What If?
by Lynnestra44
Summary: What if... there was no Muirfield, and therefore no Beast? Inspiration: Vincent's comment that he wasn't sorry about the Beast because it means they met. Got me thinking, what if there wasn't a Beast? What would everyone's life be like? Would they meet? - AU: No Beast. Rated M for adult behavior, to be on the safe side, and because I'm not entirely sure where it might go...
1. Beauties and the Bruise

**Welcome to my first fan fic. Feedback is welcome! Updating is subject to time available for writing, and my muse.  
**

**********Hope you enjoy.**

**********Disclaimer: I don't own BATB. Otherwise we'd already have several seasons guaranteed. **

* * *

_**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_

Catherine Chandler rushed into the ER of St. Luke's hospital with her younger sister Heather. They wait a few minutes to be checked in, with Heather holding an ice pack to her forehead. When the aide at the desk asks what happened, Catherine explains, "She was hit with a pop fly at a softball game we were watching."

"Oh, the annual Police and Firefighter's game?" asks the aide.

"That's it", confirms Cat. "She was so distracted by all the players that she forgot to duck."

"Not fair," exclaims Heather, "you weren't any help either."

"No, but I was watching the game, not just the players."

"Like you know what was happening? You don't even like sports!"

"It's never too late to learn. Regardless, we're here to have your head examined, and be sure a bruise is all you're keeping as a souvenir."

"Right," said the aide, "I can understand the distraction; those guys are in here all the time. Not to worry, we'll get you looked at shortly."

"Thanks, so much," replied Heather.

"I'm her sister, so I can help with the paperwork. What do you need?" asked Cat.

The aide took some basic information, including Heather's insurance, then sent the girls off to complete a medical history form. About an hour later, a pretty redhead in scrubs and a white lab coat walked out a nearby door and called Heather's name.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Alex Moore, but you can just call me Dr. Alex. Sorry for the wait, but we're a bit short staffed today, which is why I've come to get you myself." She ushers them into a small room with a bed, counter and cabinets, and encourages Heather to sit on the bed. "So, I see you were hit by a softball?"

"That's right," confirms Heather. "The boys, and my sister, all insisted I get it checked out."

"Well," interjects Cat, "you did black out for a minute."

"Better safe than sorry," soothes Dr. Alex, "Let's have a look. Can you lower the ice pack?"

Heather brings the ice pack down to reveal a bump on her forehead that's visibly discolored.

"Oh, they were right to have you come in, especially if you blacked out. We'll do some basic tests here, and then I'll send you up for a CT scan, so we can be sure you're all right."

Dr. Alex has Heather perform some basic memory tests, checks her vision and hearing, as well as balance and reflexes. Cat is concerned about her sister, but can't help be a bit amused as Heather balances on one foot, then covers one eye. However, she's encouraging, as only siblings can be.

"Looking good for a head case, Heth."

"You're just jealous of all the attention the guys gave me at the game."

"No thanks, I'm holding out for Mr. Right, not the variety pack."

"To be honest, I was hoping for a cute doctor to flirt with. You have any of those here, Dr. Alex?"

"The only one on in the ER today is my fiancé," responded the doctor as she made some notes on Heather's chart. "But I'm pretty sure the doctor on duty in the CT and xRay lab is 'your type', and I'm still going to schedule you for a scan to be safe, even though your tests here all check out fine."

"Please don't encourage her, doctor. She doesn't need the help," groaned Cat, good naturedly.

"Not a problem, we like to be sure all our patients' needs are met," the doctor joked. "It's good for the Customer Satisfaction Exit survey."

"Thanks so much Doc!" enthused Heather. "I'll be sure to give you a good score on my survey!"

"Fabulous! Another satisfied customer! Now, let's get you on your way to see your new romance. Here's a new ice pack, and your paperwork. I'm also going to give you a prescription for the pain and swelling. As long as they don't see anything on the scan, you can take these as needed, up to 2 every 4 hours. You can keep using ice for the rest of the day, as that will help with the swelling."

"Thank you, Dr. Alex," Cat grinned, "We appreciate your help, and your sense of humor."

"Yes, thank you," added Heather.

"You're welcome. It's a pleasure to deal with someone in a good mood, despite a trip to the ER. Now, be sure to take the paperwork with you. To get to the lab, just take a right out of this room, go to the end of the corridor, then take a left. The lab will be on the left, and there are signs, so you should be able to find it no problem. It was nice to meet you both, but I hope I don't see either of you again too soon."

"At least not in the ER," responded Cat. "Out, right, end of corridor, left and lab on the left?"

"That's right," confirmed the doctor, "Feel better Heather."

"Thanks Doctor. Let's go, Cat."

As Dr. Alex left the room, Cat gathered up the paperwork. "All right Heth, that's everything. You ready?"

"Yes, please. I just want to go home and lie down."

"Well, I'm pretty sure this test is lying down, so that should be about your speed right now."

The two continued quietly joking as they walked down the corridor towards the lab.

* * *

_Don't worry. Vincent is in chapter 2._


	2. Old Habits

_**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_

Dr. Vincent Keller was in the process of examining his patient's hand when he heard an unfamiliar voice in the corridor outside the treatment room. Unfamiliar voices weren't uncommon in the ER, but this one gave him chills. He looked up through the partially closed door, and was stunned. He caught just a momentary glimpse of the most strikingly beautiful girl he'd ever seen as she walked past, immersed in conversation with… someone. Just a moment later the doorway was filled with his fiancé, Dr. Alex.

"Hey, I'm going to order some lunch, you want anything? … Vincent? … Vincent? … Dr. Vincent Keller?" Alex looked at Vincent quizzically and waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Wha..? Oh, sorry, was just thinking about this… hand. Sir, I believe you'll need a few stitches. I'm sorry Alex, what were you saying?"

"Do you want anything for lunch? I'm about to order with the nurses."

"No thanks, I brought lunch today."

"PB&J and an apple again?"

"Never gets old."

"All right, but some day your mouth will be stuck closed from all that peanut butter, and then where will you be?"

"Somewhere with a very happy woman," suggests the patient.

Vincent chuckles. "You know he has a point Alex. Most women would be grateful."

"I suppose I will be," Alex counted, then pretended to swan away in a huff, with her nose in the air. The act was ruined when she stopped to laugh and wink just before closing the door behind her.

"So Doctor, who was that, and why did you really stop just before she came in?" queried the patient.

"I'm so sorry Mr. O'Leary. That was my fiancé, Dr Alex Moore. We're lucky enough to be working the same shift right now." Vincent ignored the second part of the question as he pulled supplies from drawers.

Mr. O'Leary wasn't about to be stopped. He loved to watch people, and there were some very interesting interpersonal interactions going on here.

"And what had you so distracted before she came in? You're not going to get out of this question." He kept pushing with a bit of a joke, "I don't believe you're psychic, or you would be making far more on TV somewhere."

"I'm not exactly sure," responded Vincent, and he thought for a moment as he prepared the sutures. "Something caught my attention, but it doesn't matter, as I'm not likely to see whatever it was again."

"I suppose that's true, as you do see a lot of people just once in an ER," responded the patient. "So, can I be nosy while you stitch me up? It will help distract me."

"Sure." Vincent agreed, as he cleaned the area around the wound, "What about?"

"How long you been engaged to Dr. Moore? I didn't see a ring."

"Nine, almost ten years now," Vincent stopped for a moment, and cocked his head to the side. "I don't know how that snuck up on me," he continued as he readied a syringe. "This will just sting for a minute," he noted, as he injected some local anesthesia to the finger.

"What happened?"

Vincent started sewing as he explained. "We were engaged in Medical school, and then I enlisted after 9/11. I told her she didn't have to wait for me, but I guess she didn't find anyone else while I was gone. Since I came home, about 4 years ago, we've just settled into a routine."

"So neither one of you has thought about scheduling a date?"

"I wasn't ready when I first came back, and then my dad died 2 years ago, and it hasn't come up since."

"Do you live together?"

"No. Actually we both have other roommates."

"I know it's not really my business, but if you two are both that comfortable with the status quo, maybe you need to consider that it's not meant to be. Maybe you should be chasing after that 'something' that had you distracted before your fiancé came into the room."

Vincent hesitated, but couldn't deny that their relationship was far from a grand romance, or even a passionate one anymore. "I hadn't thought about it that way, Mr. O'Leary. To be honest, I don't know why I'm telling you all this, or even why you're so interested."

"Sorry, occupational hazard: I'm a bartender. We hear all kinds of stories, and see all kinds of opportunities pass before people. The lucky ones recognize good ones when they happen, and grab tight with both hands."

"Well, I always listen to advice, even if I don't always follow it." Vincent turned to open a few packages of bandages. "I'm guessing my story kept you distracted well enough, since you're all set now. Let me just wrap this up for you." He wrapped up the finger, and provided some extra dressings, as well as a prescription for antibiotics and pain killers. "Fingers are very sensitive, so I'm going to give you some prescription pain killers, but only take them if you need them."

"Will do Doctor. I don't expect I'll need them, I'm used to getting cuts and scrapes at the bar."

"Maybe you should let someone else play with the knives and citrus for a while, and stick to supervising."

"Should be easy enough to do, since it's my place. Come down and see me anytime, O'Leary's on the corner of 114th. I'd love to buy a drink for the doc who sewed my finger back together."

"Thanks for the invite. I may take you up on that."

"Please do, especially if you need to talk again. My ears still work even if one hand isn't so great right now."

"I'll keep that in mind. Take care of yourself Mr. O'Leary."

"You too Dr. Keller."

Vincent sat for a moment after Mr. O'Leary left, thinking about the past 10 years and all the changes. He shook his head to clear it and cleaned off the rolling table he'd been using. He checked in with the nurses to be sure there weren't any urgent cases he was needed for, and let them know he was going to the break room for lunch. His regular lunch of PB&J and an apple were exactly what he needed to get his head back in the right place after that strangely intimate conversation with a complete stranger.


	3. Dinner and a Chat

_****__**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_  


Vincent read through a few pages of the New York Times while he ate his lunch, then finished up his shift. The afternoon passed quickly as they were busy with the usual weekend rush of overachieving sports enthusiasts and home improvement accidents that happen on good days in the fall. Before he knew it, his shift was over and he was waiting for Alex. They usually had dinner after their shift, taking turns between their apartments.

"Hey hun, been waiting long?" Alex queried, as she came out of the women's locker room. She finished putting her hair into a pony tail as she walked out, since it was much too muggy to leave it down.

"Only a few minutes," Vincent responded, as he matched steps with her on the way outside. "What are you in the mood for tonight? JT took the rest of the pasta for lunch today, so we'll need to stop and pick something up."

"Actually, can we go somewhere nearby? Vicky just got dumped by her boyfriend, and Cindy, Judy and I thought we'd take her out for a girls' night on the town to cheer her up. You don't mind, do you?"

Vincent and Alex regularly went out separately with their individual groups of friends, so this wasn't unusual. However, Vincent couldn't help but think about his conversation with Mr. O'Leary that afternoon, and wonder when they'd gotten so ok with being apart, or just being part of a group. He couldn't remember the last time the two of them had done something romantic, and he was startled to realize that he wasn't upset about it.

"Vincent? Everything ok?" Alex looked quizzically at him, and offered, "I can bow out if you want me to."

"Sorry. I'm fine, just thinking about one of my patients today. He actually has a bar around the corner, O'Leary's. We can get a bite to eat there if you like."

"I've been there before. They have great fish and chips. And you know fish is good for your brain, so maybe it will help you think."

"Sounds good. Clearly I could use some help with that today. What were you saying about Vicky?"

As they walked down the street, Alex explained about Vicky's breakup, and the plan for a girls' night on the town as a distraction. Vincent encouraged her to go, even joking that the girls would be better company since he'd been so distracted all day. Alex laughingly conceded his point, and then pointed at the door for O'Leary's.

Once they were inside and seated in a booth, Alex asked Vincent about his patient.

"Mr. O'Leary got distracted and cut himself instead of the fruit he was supposed to be slicing. Nothing major, but he did need a few stitches, and he won't be using that hand much for a few days."

"It's always nice when you know they'll recover. Oh, was he the one you were working on when I came in to ask you about lunch? He seemed in pretty good spirits."

"That was him. I get the impression that not much fazes him, which I guess makes sense if you own a bar near a major hospital. He was pretty cheerful for someone in the ER."

Their waitress came by to take their order. Vincent got a water, Alex an iced tea and they both got the house special: fish and chips.

"I had one of those myself today," Alex continued after the waitress was gone.

"Oh?"

"Yep. Girl came in with a contusion on her forehead. She managed to get distracted at the annual Police and Firefighters softball game, and apparently missed the softball coming straight at her head." Alex laughed softly, "it's a wonder we haven't had this happen before, given the teams."

"Why's that?"

"Come on Vincent, the cops and firefighters who play in the city league games are always in the best shape. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

The waitress was dropping off their drinks, but Vincent still couldn't help himself. Out came the sarcasm, "Softball? I never thought about it. It's not even a real sport like basketball or baseball."

"Fine then, don't come watch me play next weekend. Having you there just cramps my style when I try to distract the umpire anyway."

"That might work better if the whole team wore shorts. Especially Judy."

"And why are we engaged if you prefer petite brunettes?"

Vincent was momentarily stunned with a flashback to the beauty who'd passed by in the ER that afternoon. The look on his face was so unexpected that Alex was starting to wonder if he was going to say anything when the waitress popped up with two plates full of fried goodness, and set them on the table, startling Vincent out of his reverie. He caught himself and fired back his standard line of, "because redheads are just so much fun to get riled up!"

The waitress laughed, then offered refills on their drinks, and promised to hurry back. Vincent and Alex were both hungry, so they immediately dug into their food. This sort of silence was normal for any doctor at dinner after a full shift in the ER, so they eventually started chatting again after inhaling a good portion of their plates.

"Listen, for what it's worth, Vicky's ex is an idiot if he didn't realize what a good catch she is. She's better off without him. Go have fun with her and the girls tonight. I can clearly use an early night."

"Are you sure?"

Vincent actually got a little excited, "I can watch one of those comic book movies you don't really like. I know you didn't really enjoy _The Avengers_, so I can watch the extended version tonight."

"That sounds like a great plan. As long as you're ok with this."

"Why wouldn't I be? You always have a great time with the girls."

They finished their dinner, then went their separate ways: Alex to get ready for a fun night with the girls, and Vincent for a quiet night at home.


	4. School Dazed

_**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_

As Vincent walked home, he thought about the day, and the conversations he'd had. He wondered if he should be concerned that he _wasn't _concerned about Alex ditching him on a Saturday night to go out with the girls. Is it just that they have a comfortable relationship? Could they be _too _comfortable? Is that even possible?

His feet were on autopilot but his mind wandered. He was haunted by the vision who'd passed by and never noticed him. He'd only caught a quick glimpse, but her image was burned into his brain. He could still hear her soft voice and husky chuckle as she'd strolled by in conversation. Who was she talking to? He vaguely remembered another brunette with shorter hair and an ice pack on her face. Was she Alex's patient? If only he'd thought to ask her at dinner. He could have pretended that she looked familiar and he wanted to know if it was someone from the neighborhood he grew up with.

At that last thought Vincent stopped himself short. Did he really think it was a good idea to ask his fiancé about another girl just because she briefly caught his attention? He was one of the good guys, and these ideas weren't normal for him. "_I'll go meet JT on campus_," he though, "_we can get a drink and I can talk through this craziness with someone who knows me, instead of a patient in the ER_."

Vincent finished his walk home, took a quick shower and changed into jeans and a tee. He didn't mind the scrubs at the hospital or right after, but it was nice to get out of them and take a break from being Dr. Keller. He found this especially true on a campus, with all of those impressionable co-eds. The last thing he needed tonight was JT's students crushing on the prof's doctor roommate. It never dawned on him that they might be crushing anyway due to his clean cut good looks and physique honed by military training and a lifetime of sports and fitness for the sake of loving exercise.

He sent JT a quick text so he'd know to wait after his last night class, and headed off down the street. He determinedly thought about his patients that day, his schedule for the next week, what beer he'd order at the bar, and anything else that he would normally contemplate.

* * *

After stopping at the apartment to get some food and rest a bit, Cat drove Heather to school. Heather was working toward her Master's Degree and was taking an advanced Bio Chem class that met Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons. This was the last class she needed to complete before starting her dissertation, and she was more than half way through the semester with a passing grade. The best way to ensure she only had to take the course (and the final) once was to attend all of the classes. Though Cat wasn't fond of Biology **or** Chemistry, she agreed to drive Heather and sit through the class to be sure she didn't fall asleep on her pain meds. Heather knew better than to ask Cat to take notes, so she planned to ask her study group to share.

It was a small class, even though it was not a small school, so when they walked into the classroom, Heather introduced Cat to her professor, JT. Cat could tell that JT was confused about her presence, so she explained about the softball accident and prescriptions, and explained that she was just there as Heather's ride.

"That's awful. Is she ok to be here tonight?" JT inquired anxiously. Though he had a doctor for a roommate, he wasn't great with injuries himself.

"The doctor assured us she'll be fine. She says she feels fine, but didn't want to miss the class, and I didn't want her driving tonight, or taking the Subway. She said she'd get notes from someone in her study group, as this much science is out of my comfort zone."

As Cat and JT chatted, JT continued setting up for class. Heather indicated that she was going to sit down, and took a seat about half way back in the room, with the rest of her study group.

"That's fine. I certainly appreciate her dedication", noted JT. "Which hospital did you guys go to?"

"St. Luke's. Everyone in the ER, and at the CT scan were both great."

"Yeah, they're great. My roommate, Vincent, and his fiancé work in the ER there, and it's where I'd chose to go."

"Dr. Alex Moore?" Cat guessed, as she figured there couldn't be too many engaged doctors in the ER.

"That's her, she's really good. If she took care of Heather, no need to worry."

"Thanks, it's always nice to hear good things about your doctors. It's certainly a small world," chuckled Cat.

"It sure is. Thanks for letting me know why you're sitting in. We don't normally allow it, but I can certainly make an exception in these circumstances."

Cat thanked JT again, then sat down next to Heather.

_Two hours later_ Cat was on her third crossword puzzle on her phone. She'd stopped paying attention to the lecture about 10 minutes in when it became clear she had absolutely no hope of following along. The other students were all taking copious notes, and one had already agreed to email a copy to Heather.

She looked up when JT began to talk about the suggested reading for the next session and the schedule for finals. Then he dismissed the class. Heather started discussing plans to meet with her study group, so Cat snagged her attention.

"I'll walk over and get the car, and you can finalize plans with these guys. I'll meet you in front of the building in 10."

"Thanks Cat, that's great. See you in 10."

Cat slipped out a door at the front of the lecture hall, and briskly made her way across the campus to her car.

As Cat stole out the door, Vincent stuck his head in a back door of the hall to be sure class was over on time. JT hated interruptions, so he always entered via a back door to minimize any distractions. Seeing the students milling about in conversation, or headed out the doors, he ambled down to the front podium. Several girls in the class noticed his rugged good looks and manly physique, and turned to watch him pass.

"Daaaamn," sighed one of the girls in Heather's study group.

"What did I just miss?" queried Heather, enthusiastically. In her experience, that sort of exclamation was spared for super hot guys, fabulous shoes, and bling (the kind sold at Tiffany's).

"Do you think we can convince him to join our study group?" the first girl responded, nodding head towards Vincent and JT at the front of the room.

"Nah," responded one of the other girls, "he's friends with the Prof, not a student. One of the girls last semester wanted to invite him to the study group too, and was sadly disappointed."

"Ohhhhh yes," breathed Heather as she checked Vincent out. "I can see how that would be a letdown." She paused, and the group all ogled Vincent.

"Well girls, as much as I'd like to stay and enjoy the view, I've got to meet my sister." The rest of the girls all confirmed they had to get going too, and walked out the back as a group, confirming plans to email notes and the standard meeting time and place for their next study session.

JT packed away his tablet and watched his female students eye Vincent. He'd long ago given up any inklings of jealously over the female attention Vincent gathered. These days, JT chose to be amused, especially since he knew the gaping embarrassed Vincent just a bit.

"Hey man. Come to recruit more members of the Vincent Keller Visual Appreciation Club?"

"Chill JT, I'm really not in the mood tonight," countered Vincent, with a pretty hostile tone. JT stopped and looked at his friend, who was visibly agitated, running his hands through his hair and almost bouncing in place.

"Didn't you get my text? Please tell me you're free tonight."

"No, I don't read texts during class. I don't let my students do so either," countered JT. He started walking out of the classroom, hoping that the walk to a bar or home would help settle Vincent down into his normally even keeled self. "I am free tonight, since Sarah is at that conference in Boston. I would have mentioned it sooner, but you usually just hang with Alex on the weekends."

"Alex is doing a girls' night out because Vicky's boyfriend just dumped her," Vincent explained, as he walked out next to JT. "Do we still have that bottle of Jack at home?"

"This is a whiskey conversation?" queried JT as they started down the sidewalk, past students.

"Well… yeah. Potential life-changing epiphanies require whiskey or tequila, and we don't have any limes."

"Sounds heavy. What happened?"

"Let's just talk at home. I don't feel like sharing this with the world, _especially_ if I'm wrong."

The two strode briskly back to their apartment in silence. Vincent was kicking himself for not just waiting at home, and JT was wracking his brain, trying to think what might have happened to get Vincent this worked up. He was so distracted he didn't even think to mention the student who Alex treated that afternoon, which normally would have been fodder for a "It's a Small World" joke.

* * *

Cat pulled up and double parked as Vincent and JT were walking out of the building. Heather was watching, and quickly jumped in, since the cops were quick to ticket anyone who stayed double parked too long in the area.

"I'm buckled and good to go." Heather shared, then she looked at her sister when the car didn't move. "Cat, we can't stay, you'll get a ticket. … Cat? …Cat!"

Cat couldn't hear her sister over the ringing in her ears. She was looking at the perfect man, _her_ perfect man. Her mouth had fallen open, but she couldn't breathe.

"Catherine Chandler, if you don't move this car right now, you're going to end up with a ticket!" Heather yelled, as she shook her sister's shoulder.

The shake, combined with the angry beep of the car behind her woke Cat from her daze. She quickly put the car in gear and started down the street, careful to avoid glancing at the sidewalk.

"You sure I'm the one who got hit in the head today?"

"Sorry, I don't… I don't know what happened," stammered Cat.

Heather eyed her normally collected sister with some concern and asked, "What were you looking at?"

Cat blushed, but just muttered, "Nothing." She wasn't ready to share this completely surreal experience with her nosy little sister yet. What kind of crazy was she to imagine a connection with a stranger on the street, even if he was incredibly handsome and built, reminding her of the princes in the fairytales she'd loved as a child. Plus, he hadn't even seen her, it was all one sided. "I think I need to get more sleep," she commented as she pulled up to the next light. She stopped and waited for the light to change back to green, but she couldn't help peeking at the sidewalk from under her lashes.

To her shock, she locked eyes with Vincent. Time seemed to stop again, until Heather swatted her sister on the arm.

"It's green. Please, just get me home before you land us both in the hospital tonight."

"Sorry," groaned Cat. She started driving again, focused intently on the road.

"What were you looking at?"

"I don't… I… someone…" Cat floundered, knowing she needed some sort of reasonable response this time. She finally came up with a partial truth that she thought would satisfy her sister, "I thought I saw someone who looked familiar, but I just can't place the face."

"Gotcha, that always drives me crazy too. Don't stress over it, and it will come to you."

"Right." Cat turned up the radio and concentrated on driving home.

* * *

Vincent locked eyes with Cat and stopped dead in his tracks. He put out a hand instinctively, and grabbed JT, who could have kept walking for another block before he noticed Vincent missing. JT tried to shake off Vincent's hand, but had no success until Cat drove off.

"Dude, what the hell?"

"It was her!"

"Her who? Vincent, are you ok?"

"I don't know JT. This is why I need to talk."

"Well, I'm not a doctor or a shrink, but I seem to be the only sane one here right now. Let's go get that drink."


	5. All Talk, No Action

_**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_

JT and Vincent got back to their apartment and settled in, toeing off their shoes at the door, dropping their keys, and JT stowing his school bag. Vincent turned on the radio, selecting a jazz and blues station that he thought would be better background for this conversation than their usual rock. Meanwhile, JT grabbed a couple of glasses, and the bottle of Jack Daniels from the fridge. They both preferred it chilled but not watered down. JT poured them both 2 fingers then slid one over to Vincent. The friends slouched in their chairs at the kitchen table that often doubled as JT's desk when grading papers.

"Spill."

Vincent dragged his attention back to his best friend. He wasn't sure where to start, and was a little embarrassed at some of what he was thinking. Love at first sight was just a fairytale illusion for teenage girls, right?

"I don't even know where to start."

"The beginning, the middle, what just happened on the street… I don't care where you start, but pick somewhere and start talking, or I'm going to go watch TV. Even reruns are better than watching you stare into space."

Vincent hesitated for a minute, then took a deep breath and decided to plunge into the strangest part of his day.

"This is corny, and crazy, but do you believe in love at first sight?"

JT eyed his friend. There was no way this question was about Alex, not after 10 years. Vincent was much too agitated to be asking this for someone else, and he must have a reason for starting the conversation this way. He decided to give a truthful answer and see where the conversation went.

"I believe that people can be instantly attracted to another person. I also believe they can be instantly repulsed, intrigued or any number of reactions. Really, that's one of the things we study in biochemistry, those sorts of immediate reactions and the underlying causes.

I don't believe that love can happen immediately. I think love is something that has to grow out of knowing a person and being comfortable with them.

Short answer: I believe in lust at first sight, not love."

"Is that what happened with you and Sarah?"

"I was intrigued and interested when we first met, and she's told me she felt the same. But this isn't about Sara and me, this is about you. What happened today that you're asking me this?"

Vincent got a distant expression on his face, as he remembered his two chance encounters.

"I found the perfect girl today. Actually, found isn't really correct, since I don't know who she is, or even how to find her again."

"Sorry to break it to you, but Scarlett Johansen is seeing someone, and she's way out of your league," joked JT. He didn't know what else to say.

"This isn't like that. I only saw her for a moment, both times. She's gorgeous, and has a voice like an angel, a husky laugh and when her eyes met mine from that car…"

"So you don't know her name, if she's single or even married, what she's like, where she lives… sounds like an excellent start to a relationship."

"We had a connection. I know it. It was magic."

JT just waited this time, to see if Vincent would continue rambling, or realize what he'd just said.

"Damn it, I sound like a moron in a Disney movie." Vincent groaned as he rubbed both hands over his face. He ran them through his hair, took a drink of the whiskey in front of him, then looked up at JT. "That was the _really_ strange part of my day. I don't know what to do about it, or even if I want to do something, now that I'm sitting here thinking about it."

"Well, let's say for argument's sake that you did have a "love at first sight" perfectly fated Disney moment with this girl today."

Vincent interrupted, "Two moments, JT. That's part of what has me so freaked by this whole thing."

"Fine, _two_ perfect moments," countered JT, using his hands to make air quotes. "If you're really meant to be with this perfect girl, you'll see her again. Maybe even actually meet her this time." He paused for a moment to let that sink in, then continued a little sarcastically, "Have you thought about what this means for you and your fiancé?"

"That's the rest of what has me out of my mind. Both times, it was like Alex didn't exist. A patient even noticed it today when Alex stopped by the treatment room after my perfect girl walked by."

"Did Alex?"

"No, I managed to cover by claiming to be distracted by the hand I needed to stitch up."

"TMI, about the hand," JT exclaimed, as he took a healthy swallow from his glass.

"Sorry," Vincent apologized, as he sometimes forgot JT's complete aversion to blood and gore that wasn't in a movie or video game. "That wasn't the strangest part though. He made me think about my relationship with Alex from a completely different perspective.

Do you realize we've been dating for 10 years? We don't live together, don't sleep together; we don't even have sex anymore."

"Vincent."

"I know, no details. But neither of us is pushing to set a date or make any changes. We don't even talk about it, and I don't remember the last time we did."

JT looked at Vincent, and poured them both another finger of whisky.

"So what do you want to do? Do you want to change your relationship? Do you want to move in, get married, and all that entails? Do you want to break things off?"

"This is why I wanted to talk to you about this. I knew you'd ask the hard question and not pull punches." Vincent took a deep breath, then another swallow of Jack. "I don't know what I want to do yet. This all came up today, and I don't want to rush into any decisions."

"Do you still love her?"

"Alex? I guess I do, but I'm not **in** love with her. I don't know if I ever really was. I'm starting to wonder if we were just going along with everyone else's expectations because they were easy and comfortable."

"Don't hit me, but I didn't think you were nervous enough when you asked her. All the other guys I know who've proposed were nervous about the ring, the location, everything. You were your normal, unflappable self."

"You're right, I wasn't even that excited about it. At the time, I just assumed that meant I was making the right decision. Thinking about it now, the whole thing was underwhelming, including her response. And nothing's changed as far as that goes. We should be spending more time together, and be making plans, like you and Sara. We should _want_ to be together, not so comfortable apart all the time.

"Well, that depends if you want a grand romance a la Disney, or just a comfortable relationship that doesn't challenge either of you."

"I always thought there would be more passion, more… something. I thought I wanted the challenge and the grand romance."

"Well, you're not acting like it. You haven't since you started dating her."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I had no idea that you wanted something else. You got yourself into this. It's up to you to figure out what you want _now_."

"I don't want to hurt Alex."

"If that's your first thought, that says worlds about your feelings. But think about it, can you honestly say that staying with her isn't going to hurt her? What happens if you meet your perfect girl again? Won't it be worse to break things off if there's someone else involved, instead of just because you've changed your mind?"

"That's a good point. I can't do it now though. Her birthday is next week, the week after is Halloween, after which it's a short time to Thanksgiving and the winter holidays."

"You can't stay with her until January just because you want to spare her feelings. That's ridiculous. I know that there are some bad times to break up with someone, but that's crazy.

"Plus, can you really carry off the act that nothing has changed?"

"But that's the thing, nothing really has."

"Except for your perspective, and maybe your search for the perfect girl. You think she's not going to notice something's off?"

"Honestly, we spend so little time together as it is, I think I can pull it off. Maybe not until January, but at least until after her birthday."

"Don't let this get away from you. I can see waiting until after her birthday, but don't let it go too long. And don't start looking for Miss Perfect until after you've talked to Alex."

"I don't even know where to start. I can't expect to see her in the ER again. And she could have been driving down Broadway for any reason."

"Just for curiosity's sake, what does she look like?"

"Brunette, green eyes, delicate and petite, gorgeous, almost exotic…" Vincent trailed off, picturing her in his head.

"Sounds like hundreds of girls in New York," countered JT. "Good luck, you're going to need it."

Vincent chuckled at JT's usual sarcasm. "Thanks man, but she's not like anyone else."

"Was she alone? Maybe there's someone else you can track?"

Vincent considered both of his memories, trying to remember other details. "There was another girl with her both times. She looked, similar, I guess. Sister maybe?

"Don't worry about it for now. You're right, if we're meant to be, I'll find her again."

"You good for now?"

"Yeah. Hey, is there a game on tonight?"

"I'm sure we can find something. Why don't you start looking, I'll be out in a minute."

"Thanks man," said Vincent as he took his glass to the living room to start flipping channels. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do yet, but he felt better after talking to JT. Plus, he figured he had a few days until after Alex's birthday to figure everything out.

"Anytime," responded JT, as he put the bottle back in the fridge. He stood and thought for a minute as he washed his glass. There was no way that Vincent's perfect girl could be his student's sister, was there? He looked at the class roster and found her name: Heather Chandler. She said her sister was Catherine Chandler? That sounded right. Having the same last name as her sister wasn't definitive that she wasn't married, but a good sign. JT decided to do some research about Catherine Chandler in case she was Vincent's Miss Perfect. He was happy to help his friend, but was determined to wait until after Vincent broke things off with Alex, if he ever did, to give Vincent any info. Mind made up, he wandered into the living room to watch TV.


	6. Business as Usual

_**- Saturday, 6th October, 2012 -**_

Cat managed to drive back to the apartment she shared with Heather without any further distractions. She parked in the small lot behind the building, then they trudged up 5 flights of stairs to their apartment. It was a fairly spacious 2 bedroom in a decent neighborhood, and nights like these made them both incredibly grateful they didn't have to have more roommates. The girls wouldn't let their parents pay their rent, even with the family money, but they did accept a discount on the rent in a building the family owned.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted," groaned Heather.

"How about I make you some tea. You're going to need something to take your painkillers with anyway."

"That would be great. Chamomile please."

"Coming right up. Go get comfortable and I'll bring it in."

"Thanks Cat. I owe you for today."

"No worries, what are sisters for after all."

Cat made two cups of Chamomile, then left one on her sister's nightstand. She was tired as well, and had an early morning the next day. The working hours of a police detective often don't lend themselves to a regular or even a full sleep schedule. Cat planned take advantage of the time and crawl in bed now, even if she just ended up watching TV for a bit.

Cat was out like a light when her head hit the pillow. She awoke at 4:05 am to the ringing of her cell, haunted by memories of piercing brown eyes.

"Chandler."

"Morning partner, rise and shine!"

"Tess, it's only …" Cat rolled over to squint at the clock, "Four am. I thought we weren't on until six this morning."

"Got called in for an early start on a strange case."

"Figures. I can be out the door in 20. Where am I headed?"

Tess gave Cat the address of the hotel, and promised to bring coffee. Cat crawled out of bed, and stretched. She walked over to her dresser to pull out underwear, then the closet for jeans, a blouse and boots. She emerged after 4 minutes in the bathroom and quickly got dressed. She opened her gun safe, and snagged her belt with her badge and holster, with the gun still in it. After buckling the belt, she grabbed a leather jacket, her cell and keys, and headed out the door.

The two women met at the door of the hotel. Tess handed Cat one of the cups of coffee she was carrying.

"Oh thank you so much. I really needed the hit this morning."

"Anytime," responded Tess as she led the way through the doors. "I know this is a bit of an early call, but you're not normally this desperate for caffeine. Please tell there was someone keeping you up?"

"Ha, right! No, just didn't sleep well. Weird dreams or… something," Cat responded, looking distracted at the end as she remembered the haunting brown gaze.

Tess grabbed Cat before she walked into one of the crime scene techs.

"Hey, must have been some dream, but you'll want to be paying attention because here's our body." She walked through the door to the Women's room and held out a hand towards the smartly dressed woman lying on the floor.

"Looks dressed up. What do we have so far?"

The first officer on scene ran Cat and Tess through what they'd found so far. The deceased worked for a major magazine, and was married to a famous photographer. No obvious cause of death, or even missing items.

"Any idea about cause of death yet?" inquired Cat.

"Hey Cat, Tess. Nothing visible, I'll have to do a full examination," responded Evan, the senior medical examiner for their division.

"Hey Evan," responded Cat absently as she looked through the victim's purse, "just let us know what you find."

"So ladies, what do I get if I rush this?" Evan Inquired mischievously.

"What did you have in mind?" countered Tess, flirtatiously, since Cat was still absorbed in the crime scene.

"I need a date for a birthday party next Saturday."

Tess nudged Cat's boot with her own to get her attention. "Well, I'm busy Saturday, but I'm pretty sure Cat's free."

"What?" asked Cat, distractedly as she lifted her head to look at Tess and Evan. "Saturday?"

"Evan needs a date."

"Oh, uhm… I don't …."

"Don't sound so tortured. My dates always have a good time."

"I just have no desire to become another member of the _Evan Marks 3 Month Club_. As long as we're clear that this is just friends, I'll go."

"That's fair. It's a house party, so dress is casual. I'll pick you up around 7?"

"Sounds good. Now, don't you have a date with our victim in your lab?"

"Nice one Cat," chuckled Tess.

Evan just groaned. "Like I've never heard that one before. You need new material Chandler."

"I'll work on that for Saturday. Come on Tess, let's go dig into the life of Evan's breakfast date."

Cat and Tess walk out to their cars, then drive to the office to start the background investigation. They eat breakfast as they start the paperwork and web searches that are the boring staples of police work.

"So," speculated Tess,"finally a date with Evan."

"I meant it. I don't want to be another notch on his bed post."

"You don't have to be. He could change." Tess snickers a bit as she says this.

"You and I both know that it's hopeless to try to change a man. If they don't want to change, it won't work, and even then sometimes you're doomed. This girl is too smart for that."

"Glad to know you're still thinking straight about that. Still, it might be fun to hop the Evan train for a bit. When was the last time you went out with a guy?"

"I don't know, months probably."

"Cat, you're too young and hot, to be single. No wonder your flirting skills are rusty. We need to get you out there."

"I'm happy with my life, Tess."

"Sure, that's why you're trying to figure out who to bring to your cousin's wedding so you're not stuck at the singles table. You could always bring Evan."

"I don't want him to think I'm interested in him that way."

"Why not? All the other women seem to have fun."

"While it lasts, sure. I'm not looking for Mr. Right Now. I'm not even really looking, just keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. Besides, Evan isn't Mr. Right. It's not just his 3 month rule, there's just no magic. Sure, there's a hint of attraction there. I admit he's hot; you'd have to be blind to miss it."

Tess snorts a laugh at this comment. She doesn't say anything though, because Cat seems to be on a roll, and Tess has been increasingly curious why Cat won't date Evan, though he regularly asks.

"No, attraction isn't magic," continues Cat, quietly. She gazes past Tess with a wistful look on her face. "I want Mr. Perfect, and romance and love at first sight and that moment when you realize you're destined to be together forever."

"Cat, that only exists in Disney movies and kids fairytales." Tess scoffs at Cat's wish, though she's secretly drawn in by the idea.

Cat meets Tess's direct gaze, and comes back to reality.

"I know, but I'd like to find a guy that at least makes me think those things are possible. Evan is _not_ that guy."

"It sounds great, but I don't know if you can find any guy like that, and this is New York City. We have everything here."

"I know he's out there, somewhere…" Cat gazes off again, thinking about tousled brown locks, intense brown eyes, the beginning of a scruff of a beard, broad shoulders…

Tess throws a balled up piece of paper at Cat to get her attention.

"You've met this paragon?"

"What? Oh, no…"

"That sounds like something other than just no."

"That's crazy. If I'd met Mr. Perfect, you'd know. I don't think I could stop myself from gushing."

"I'm going to hold you to that Ms. Chandler."

"Oh hey, that search is done."

"Nice change of topic," taunts Tess. Cat tries to sputter an objection, but Tess takes pity on her. She figures she'll get more out of Cat somewhere besides the precinct, and makes a mental note to drag Cat out the bar one night. "It's cool, what do we have?"


	7. Ships in the Night

_**- Saturday, 20th October, 2012 -**_

Evan arrives at Cat's promptly at 7pm on Saturday night. He parks, then buzzes her apartment. Determined to keep to the "just friends" plan, she lets him know she'll be right down. Evan is disappointed, but is determined not to scare her off, so he just waits in the lobby.

"Cat, you look great!"

"Uh, thanks. You said casual, so I figured jeans were fine?"

"They're perfect, especially on you," Evan winked, as he started leading Cat out to the car.

"Ok…. So where are we going? Should we stop and pick anything up?"

"A house out in Queens, and I've got a variety of beer already in a cooler in the car."

Evan opened the door to his car. Cat gave him a wary look from the corner of her eye as she slid in. He shut the door, then rounded the front of the car, climbed in and pulled out of the parking space.

"So whose party? Is there an occasion?"

"It's a birthday party for a friend. I'm sorry but you probably won't know anyone, she and her roommates are doctors. I met her a few years ago at the City Medical Convention."

"You didn't tell me it was a birthday party. I would have brought something."

"Oh, no need. No one brings gifts, just beverages for themselves and the birthday girl."

"You sure?"

"Positive, I've been coming for a few years and there are never any presents."

"Well, ok then. So, if you've been coming for a few years, why so desperate for a date?"

Evan looked a little sheepish. "To be honest, Cat, I only showed up to this party single once, and it was no fun. Most young doctors spend so much time in at work that they are either looking for just one night, or frantic for a relationship. There's no middle ground.

"If I show up with someone, there's no pressure. I can meet people, mingle, have a good time, but not worry about waking up with a stranger or fighting off a trip to the altar."

Cat laughed, "And I thought we had it bad."

"I know, right? Makes me glad I don't deal with the living. The dead have more patience." They both laughed. "Here we are." Evan pulled up and parked. "This is as close as we'll get, but it's only a few houses down."

"Can I help with anything?"

"If you'll just get the trunk after I pull the cooler out?"

"No problem."

Evan led the way to the front door, and had Cat ring the bell. A guy answered the door, and informed them that Alex was probably in the kitchen, and the beer was on the porch. Evan led the way in, dropping the cooler on the porch before snagging Cat's hand and winding his way into the kitchen.

"Alex! Happy Birthday!" Evan exclaimed, dropping Cat's hand to embrace a tall redhead. Cat looked on, amused, as Evan sounded more excited than she'd ever heard. Cat studied Alex, watching what looked like relief, excitement, concern and then worry pass over her face. Before Cat could process the seemingly strange set of emotions, Evan pulled away.

"Alex, this is my good friend Cat."

"Hi Cat! Welcome!" exclaimed Alex. It was clear that she'd already been drinking for quite some time.

"Dr. Alex from St. Luke's. Happy Birthday!"

"Have we… you look… have I seen you recently?"

"Yes, you treated my sister for a softball injury last weekend."

"Ohhhhh yes. How is she?"

"Fine, thanks."

"Oh that's nice. It was nice to treat you guys, you weren't grouchy at all."

"I can see that would be a job hazard in the ER."

Evan snagged Cat's hand, and nodded his head toward the door to the porch.

"Alex, it's great to see you again, under happier circumstances. We're just going to grab a beer. Can we get you anything?" offered Cat, taking the hint.

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Happy Birthday, we'll find you later to chat some more," added Evan, as he pulled Cat towards the door.

"Greaaaat! Thanks for coming!"

Once they were on the porch, Evan selected a beer for himself, and opened the one Cat pulled out. They mingled on the porch for a while, discussing cases, office gossip, and chatting with other guest. Evan introduced Cat to Alex's roommates, and other doctors and examiners he'd met previously. Several beers in, Cat asks where the bathroom is.

"There's one back inside on the left off the kitchen, and a second one up the stairs and straight across," offered one of the roommates.

"Thanks," replied Cat, as she turned to go back inside.

"No worries. Hey, the upstairs one is usually less busy."

"Good to know. Evan, I'll be back."

"I'll be around."

Cat wove her way through the crowd. Sometimes her slight stature was a benefit, as she could squeeze through small spaces. But sometimes it was hard to clear a path, or even see where she was headed in a room full of people. She finally managed to get to the stairs, which were surprisingly clear. She headed up, and was relieved to find the bathroom upstairs was empty.

As Cat came back down the stairs, she stopped to look around and be sure Evan hadn't come in side. She was also plotting the best route to an outside door, while she still had a clear view. As she stood there, JT happened to look up and see her on the stairs. It only took him a moment to recognize her, and wonder what she was doing there. He turned to his girlfriend, Sara, and pointed her out.

"I think that's the sister of one of my students. I'm not sure, but she might be Vincent's perfect girl." He'd told Sara what happened with Vincent the other day, and his vague suspicions that it might be Heather's sister. Sara agreed he shouldn't say anything to Vincent since JT wasn't even sure it was the right girl.

"She's gorgeous. I can see why he'd be attracted."

"Should I find him to let him know?" asked JT, hesitantly.

"We agreed you would let things develop on their own, especially while he's still with Alex."

"I know, you're right. Still, I'm dying to know if that's her."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually."

Not seeing Evan, or a clear path to the back door, Cat made her way down the stairs, and out the front door. She started to walk around the house to the porch, but stopped for a moment to look up at the sky, and the gorgeous full moon.

As she stood there, gazing up, Vincent looked out the window of Alex's bedroom on the second floor. She was chilly, so he'd gone up to get her a sweater. Something, some instinct made him look outside. He was stunned to see the girl from the week before, his perfect girl standing outside, gazing up at the sky. He was frozen for a moment, then turned and rushed downstairs to try to get outside, completely forgetting Alex's sweater.

He only made it as far as the living room before Alex stumbled into his arms.

"Baaaaaby, where've you been?" slurred Alex, forgetting she'd sent him upstairs.

"Uh, around. Did you still want a sweater?" asked Vincent, feeling a bit guilty.

"Nah, I'm toasty warm. Especially with you holding me." She snuggled in. Vincent just held onto her, and closed his eyes for a moment at the thought of his perfect girl slipping away, while knowing that he shouldn't be chasing anyone while he was still engaged to Alex, much less at her birthday party. When he opened them again, and looked out the living room window next to him, his perfect girl was being embraced by a blond guy… oh, yes, one of the medical examiners from the city. Vincent took this as a sign, and turned away from the window. He picked up Alex and carried her to bed. He pulled the covers up over her, shut the door behind him, and headed home.

* * *

Evan came around the front of the house and called Cat's name. She turned, and caught a glimpse of Vincent holding Alex in front of a window. Her breath caught, but before she could react, Evan had reached her. He put a hand on her shoulder, but seeing how dazed she looked, he pulled her in for a hug, while asking, "You ok?"

"Oh! Evan. I'm fine, just tired."

"You ready to head out? I just said goodnight to Alex, she's pretty gone."

Cat looked back at the window, but her perfect man and Alex were gone from view.

"Home sounds good. And Alex had a good excuse to party. If you can't let go on your birthday, when can you?"

"Very true. Let's go."

"Don't you need your cooler?"

"Not mine. I needed to return it to her roommate anyway."

"Well ok then. Home sounds great."

Cat was quiet on the way home, distracted by thoughts of her perfect man. "_He must be the fiancé that Alex mentioned. Too bad the good ones are always taken."_

She was very much caught up in her own thoughts, but strangely, Evan didn't seem to notice how quiet she was. He dropped her at the front door to her apartment, and didn't even make any move to follow her upstairs. He just thanked her for being a good sport, and said he'd see her around. Cat responded in kind, and headed up to her apartment.

Once upstairs, Cat changed into her favorite old flannel PJs, then crawled into bed. To her surprise, she fell asleep almost instantly.


	8. Therapy, and Breakfast

_**- Sunday, 21st October, 2012 -**_

Cat woke up to her alarm clock at nine the next morning. She vaguely remembered dreaming about her perfect man from the night before… and something about playing doctor…? As she lay there in bed, the dream fading from her memory, as they always did when she woke in the middle, it dawned on her that it was Sunday, and she was off. "_Why was my alarm set?"_ She checked her phone calendar: she had plans to meet Tess for brunch at ten at their favorite diner. Cat groaned, then got up to take a shower and throw on clothes.

Tess was already waiting when Cat showed up at the diner. She was dying to know how the evening had gone, because she figured this date was the pivotal moment for Cat having, or not having, a relationship with Evan.

"Hey, you weren't waiting long, were you?"

"Nope, just got here myself. How was last night?"

"Fine." Cat answered automatically, then tilted her head to the side for a moment as she actually thought about the events of the evening before.. "Actually, it _was_ fine, and I had fun and all, but Evan was a bit weird."

"How so?"

"He and Alex, the birthday girl, were really glad to see each other, but the expressions on their faces sometimes felt a little off. You know, I'm probably imagining things, paranoid cop instincts and all. He got along with her roommates just fine, though we never did meet her fiancée." Cat trailed off as it finally dawned on her that her perfect man was probably Alex's fiancée.

"Good morning girls", interrupted the waitress. "Coffee?"

"Yes please", they chorused.

As the waitress poured, she asked "What can I get for you today?"

Cat and Tess each ordered a cheese omelet with wheat toast, though Tess got home fries and Cat got bacon. After the waitress left, Tess immediately zeroed back in on Cat's expression as she was gazing into space as she talked about the party..

"So, I know that look, the one you had before our coffee showed up. You just thought of something that you're not entirely happy with."

"You know the other day, when you asked if I'd met someone?"

"Ya, the day you agreed to go on the _non-date_ last night."

"Right, well, this is incredibly crazy, but there's this guy." Cat held up a hand to stop the incoming gush of questions she knew were forthcoming from Tess. "No, stop, let me just tell this, or I don't know if I can get it out, it's all just so… so stupid.

"I saw this guy last week, walking near campus when I took Heather to her class. I don't know what it was about him, but I was instantly drawn to him. I was in the car, and couldn't even stop, much less introduce myself. I drove off, but the next light was red, and after I stopped I looked over and our eyes met. I swear we had a connection, though I've never met him and have no idea what his name is, or anything else about him.

"I saw him again last night, through a window, with Alex, the birthday girl, wrapped up in his arms. They looked pretty cozy, and since we never met the fiancée, I have to assume that _he_ is the fiancée.

"And all this really does is prove our theory that all the good ones are taken. But, if I can feel this instant attraction to him, more than I've ever felt with anyone before, then clearly I've been dating the wrong guys. And no, before you ask, it wasn't just lust. I swear there was a connection, like I should know him already from somewhere."

"Listen, I know I'm just your partner, not a shrink, but did you ever wonder if you only date assholes, albeit infrequently, because you were stung so badly by that moron when you were in college? I mean, it's bad enough if things go wrong with a co-worker, especially one setting you up to be robbed, but you were dating the guy too."

"Well… anyone would be skittish…" fumbles Cat.

"Seriously, this might even be why you've never slept with anyone. I know it's not religious, so what else could it be? It's not a bad decision, you know I don't judge, but it's always good to know _why_ you've decided something."

"I.. you have a point. So are you saying I've never felt this before because I never let myself get involved with a guy worth it?"

"Maybe, at least that's part of it."

"So, what do I do now? I could probably track him down, but if he's involved with someone already, I'm not interested. Dating is challenging enough without bringing extra people into it."

"Well, let's pretend we do live in a fairy tale." Tess smirks. "If you really are meant to be with this guy, you'll meet him again, and it will all work out."

"True, even in this non-animated world. New York is a strangely small city sometimes. I've seen this guy twice, so chances are we'll cross paths again. And if not, it was clearly _not_ meant to be."

"Sounds reasonable. In the meantime, try to keep an open mind with new guys you might meet. Say, for example, at the New Year's Charity Ball."

Cat groans, "I'd forgotten about that. Well, I guess there will be eye candy at least."

"Oh yeah," breathes Tess, "the one time a year the boys actually clean themselves up and look presentable. I can't wait. I do love me some men in tuxedos."

"Here you go girls", interrupts the waitress. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, this is fine, thanks", responded Cat. The two dug into their meal, but finally Cat asked, "You have a dress yet?"

"No, want to go shopping after this?"

"Sure, I still need a dress too. Where should we start?"

Cat and Tess figured out where they'd start shopping while they ate. They finished their meal, paid the tab and tip, then headed out for a girls' day.

* * *

_Author's Note: In this universe, Cat's experience where she was robbed is why she wants control and decides to become a cop, instead of a lawyer._


	9. The Morning After

_**- Sunday, 21st October, 2012 -**_

Morning after at the dinerwas a tradition that Vincent and JT started when they were in college. Anytime there was a birthday party, they would go to the nearest diner for breakfast the next morning, along with the guest of honor. It started as a great way to recover from a hangover, and became a time to bond. They weren't picky about who they invited, but it was almost never a big group that showed up.

Vincent, Alex, JT and Sara met up at the diner. After confirming no one else was coming, they requested a table for four. They all ordered coffees, then chatted casually about the party as they looked over the menus. The waitress returned with four cups and the coffee pot, and took their orders. The boys both got corned beef hash with 2 eggs over easy, sausages and home fries. Sara ordered blueberry pancakes, and Alex got a Belgian waffle and fruit. She was feeling surprisingly well for the amount of alcohol she'd consumed, but that was probably due to Vincent convincing her to drink several glasses of water over the course of the night.

Vincent, on the other hand, was feeling the beginning of a stress headache creep up his neck. He was drinking coffee as fast as the waitress would refill his cup. Sara and JT sat back and watched to see what would happen next. They were talking about the people they'd met and caught up with at the party, when Alex remembered meeting Cat, again.

"Hey guys, you know how we're always talking about how it's such a small world, even in New York City?" asked Alex.

"Oh yeah, _Seven Degrees of NYC_ instead of Kevin Bacon," joked JT.

"No, seriously, it was so completely random." Alex aimed an over exaggerated scowl at JT.

"This I'm dying to hear," interjected Sara.

"So, I'm not sure if you guys remember me talking about a patient from last week. Her sister brought her into the ER with a bump from a softball."

"The pair that was so happy, even in the ER on a Saturday? I remember you mentioned them," confirmed Vincent.

"Well, the sister was at the party last night with Evan, one of the city's Medical Examiners."

This statement was met with amused glances from JT and Sara, as well as a slightly confused look from Vincent.

"I'm, uh, not sure I met her," noted Vincent. "What does she look like?"

"Petite, longish dark brown hair, green eyes. She had on jeans and a really fabulous red leather jacket."

JT and Sarah exchanged a knowing glance and returned to watching Vincent's and Alex's reactions. Vincent thought for a moment, then confirmed, "No, I didn't meet her last night."

"Too bad, she was really nice."

"She sounds it, if she's the type of person who can still be nice in the ER," responded Sarah, before asking, "Hey, is Evan the blond one with the yummy English accent?"

"Hey there," objected JT.

"Don't worry," assured Sara, "I'm still all yours. I just love listening to an English accent."

Vincent was glad that the table dissolved into jokes about Sara and JT and accents, as it gave him some time to think. It was insane, but could his perfect girlbe the sister of the patient with the softball injury? For a moment he was excited, as he thought that now he could find her, either through Evan or maybe looking up the records from that ER visit. Then reality crashed back down as he looked at Alex. If he was going to chase some girl, he owed it to Alex to break things off. But how could he? She'd been more attentive and eager to see him all week. They'd had lunch together every day this past week, as well as dinner every night except Thursday. Had she sensed his distance, and was this her way of making up for it?

"Hello? Earth to Space Cadet Keller!" Vincent was startled as JT's waving hand was thrust in front of his face.

"Huh… oh, I'm sorry guys." Vincent thought frantically for a moment, then deliberately went for a provocative comment about accents, "I was thinking about Annalise from med school. She had this French accent, and..." he trailed off deliberately, ducking to pretend to be sheepish, based on Alex's glare. The other girls in the class always been jealous of Annalise because all of the boys drooled over the sexy exchange student. "Sorry hun, it was the accent comment."

"Sure, sure," Alex smirked sarcastically. "All of the girls in the class were _so sorry_ to see her go back to France."

"Hey, I didn't pick her as my lab partner, it was alphabetical."

"Here you go!" The waitress stopped at their table with a loaded tray, and began passing plates around. Vincent was relived at the timely interruption. There was a moment of silence as everyone situated their plates, and scarfed down the first few bites of breakfast.

"So, we were talking about Halloween," explained Alex. "I can't remember if we have plans for that weekend, or the actual day."

"JT and I will be at Columbia's Bio/Chem party on the 27th. They invite all of the Biology and Chemistry professors from all the colleges in the city, and a few just outside. It's a pretty wild time, especially when the Chem professors play at mixology," raved Sara. "Last year they had some fabulous combinations."

"That sounds like a good way to get into a lot of trouble." Vincent laughed, and asked, "JT, is that the party you went to a few years ago when you had to call me to…"

"Yes, yes," interrupted JT, embarrassed. "That was the party where I had such a good time I couldn't wait to tell you about it."

"JT, I was there. I thought you were cute when you got that drunk. You actually talked to me in full sentences." Sara enjoyed JT's blush as she continued, "of course it would have been better if you'd remembered that I flirted back, or if you continued talking to me the next week when you were sober again."

JT looked at Sara, slightly aghast, "Wait, I talked to you then? And then was my standard clueless self the next week? Why did you agree to go out with me after all of that?"

It was Sara's turn to blush, "I had a crush on you since you were hired. Alex, are all guys this clueless when a girl likes them, or is it just the geniuses?"

"Oh, they all have their moments. Sadly, most of the ones who get it are the players. Believe me, cluelessness is often a good thing. It's usually linked to niceness, which is highly underrated."

"Huh, never thought about it that way," responded Sara, "but that makes sense."

"Hey now, I'm not clueless," protested Vincent.

"You certainly have your moments," smirked Alex.

"Standard guy here," he conceded. "So, back to Halloween. I'm actually working on Saturday and Wednesday. I was scheduled, and since several of the other doctors have kids, and it's always busy, I figured I'd stay on the schedule. Plus, you get to see the most interesting characters. Last year we had a guy whose girlfriend bit through his lip with her fangs."

"Seriously?" Sarah was rather incredulous.

"Yep. She was with him. I remember he had fake fangs in too, because we had to argue with him to take them out so we could treat him."

"Oh, I remember them. They were both wearing all black, and they looked like they had never seen the sun. Their skin practically glowed in the dark," confirmed Alex.

"Oh, it did. Sparkly white glow in the dark skin paint. They bragged about it," laughed Vincent. "They were nice enough though, and grateful we were able to get him fixed up quickly." The table shared a laugh at the craziness you can find in the big Apple, especially at Halloween.

"Well, if you're working, do you mind if I go out with the girls? Cindy has an in to the party at Cielo, and she can get us all on the list. I was going to see if you wanted to come, but if you're working…"  
"Hope she didn't do anything illegal to get that in," jested Sara, who knew Cielo was one of the hottest bars in NYC at the moment. She wasn't a social butterfly, but her sister was.

"Nah, her cousin is one of the bouncers. Vincent, are you ok if I go?"

"Oh no, go ahead. The four of you always have fun."

"Thanks hun. Can we do dinner on the 28th for our anniversary then? Or are you working Sunday too?"

"Oh god, I am clueless!" Vincent looked stricken. "I'm so sorry; I don't know how I forgot that Saturday was the 27th and our anniversary. I can probably get someone to swap with me on the schedule if you want to do something that day. I'll even come out with you and the girls if you like." This was a huge concession, as Vincent wasn't a fan of most clubs; if he had to dance, he preferred something slower and more intimate.

"No, don't worry about it hun." Alex laughed, and dismissed Vincent's concerns very straightforwardly, without any signs of frustration, sadness or anger. "I'm definitely looking forward to some girl party time. I think it will be good for Vicky, since she just went through a break up."

The other three occupants of the table gaped at Alex's response for a moment. They were wondering the same things: how could Alex be so blasé about Vincent forgetting their anniversary, not making any plans, _and_ already have non-Vincent girl time planned herself? Was she just putting up a good front?

Vincent agitatedly ran his right hand through his hair and down his neck. His response was somewhat tentative. "If you're sure that's what you want to do..."

"You know I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. We've been together forever. It's nice that we don't have to worry about remembering dates or insulting the other. I'll go enjoy the type of dancing you don't, then we can hang on Sunday." Alex's response was completely comfortable and assured.

"I'm glad you have something fun planned. Thanks for being so understanding."

"Of course. Listen, I think I'm going to head back to my place and take a nap. Can we get the check?"

"No worries, birthday girl, I got this," assured Vincent guiltily. "Head on home now, you'll feel better after a few more hours sleep."

"Just in time for my softball game!"

"You didn't tell me you had one today. We'll come by and watch, won't we JT, Sara?" Both hurriedly agreed to accompany Vincent to watch Alex's game.

"Great, I'll see you guys there." Alex got up, swung on her coat, kissed Vincent goodbye on the cheek, and headed out of the diner.

_Update A/N 5__th__ May, 2013_

_Typo: update "Ethan" to be "Evan" _

_Author's Notes - 5th of January, 2013_

_Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I'm glad to see you're all enjoying it. I'll be updating as often as I can, but I'd rather wait an extra day to proofread/edit with a bit of objectivity than post something that might need fixing._

_Added a Disclaimer to Chapter 1_

_Updated the timing comment in Chapter 5 (Vincent's line about birthday, Halloween, etc)_

_Added Chapter 9_

_This story is set in the end of 2012, so I have a calendar to keep things logical._

_I just picked a last name for Alex, since I couldn't find one mentioned in the spoilers._


	10. Oh No She Didn't!

_**- Sunday, 21st October, 2012 -**_

Vincent, JT and Sara just sat, stunned, in the booth, as they watched Alex's departure from the diner. Finally, JT and Sara turned to exchange quizzical glances, while Vincent thought for another moment. He was grateful that Sara was there to provide some female perspective. "Do you guys think she means it? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this."

"As far as I can tell she meant it, but we all know I'm not the best judge," JT shrugged.

"I believe she was sincere," confirmed Sara. "But that raises a whole different set of questions. Vincent, when was the last time you thought about your relationship, or had an actual serious conversation with Alex about it? If it's been a while, it might be time for both."

"What do you guys think?"

Sara looked very serious, "Neither of you is behaving like you did in the stories JT tells me from before you enlisted, and even less like most engaged couples. You seem to be growing further apart, not closer." At Vincent's unhappy expression, she continued apologetically, "I'm only telling you this because you asked. I would never have volunteered my thoughts otherwise."

"I have to agree with her." JT added. "You guys used to go out of your way to make events like birthdays and anniversaries special."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "That seems like a strange thing to say after your comments last week. It seemed like you were saying we were never really in love, but now you're saying we did special stuff."

"Special yes, but none of it was ever truly romantic. We both know they were all gestures one might do for a close friend or family member." JT smirked and continued sarcastically, "Unless there were lover-like surprises that you never clued me into?"

"JT, you know we were never sentimental that way. It was always just comfortable."

"Is it still comfortable?" queried Sara.

Vincent ran a hand through his hair, took a long drag from his coffee mug, sighed, then finally looked up and met Sara's eyes. "I've done a lot of thinking about this, but it's not easy to put into words.

"I'm still comfortable with Alex, but I'm _not_ comfortable with our relationship." He paused, frustrated at the difficulty in expressing his very mixed emotions, "I'm comfortable with the place we have in each other's lives. We don't act like lovers, or like we're in love or even dating; we act like friends. So, I'm not comfortable saying we're engaged, because that implies a level of intimacy we no longer have, and I no longer want.

"I don't know what Alex wants, and I'm getting mixed signals. She made it a point to spend a lot of time with me this past week. Contrast that with her behavior today and her plans for Halloween and our anniversary…

"When I think back now, her behavior has sent conflicting messages for a long time. With my new perspective, I wonder if she might have gotten to a point where she wanted to call it off… and I worry that she might not tell me due to loyalty or guilt, because it's been so long, and I was deployed, and… and I don't even know." Vincent trailed off, out of words for the moment. This was a life changing revelation for him, and he looked a bit lost, quite understandably.

JT was glad that his friend was seeing this on his own. He knew that part of the reason Vincent was talking to him and Sara was to be sure he was being sane and logical; as logical as love gets anyway. So someone needed to ask, "You're not just doing this because you saw your perfect girl, are you?"

Vincent sat, obviously considering the question. He finally explained, slowly, thinking about each word as he said it, "If I hadn't seen her, I don't know when or if I might have had these thoughts about Alex and our relationship. Seeing my mystery girl has simply prompted me to re-evaluate my current relationship and my feelings. Even if I never find perfection, I don't think I can be more than friends with Alex anymore."

Vincent stopped, put both hands palm down on the table, took a deep breath in, held it for a moment, then let it out. He looked up at Sara and JT, and shrugged; he couldn't find the words to continue, and didn't know if he needed to anyway.

The three sat for a bit in silence. Clearly Vincent had spent a significant amount of time and effort considering the situation. Sara looked at JT, who made shooing motions at her with his hands, obviously encouraging her to take point. She rolled her eyes at him, then smiled.

"So, you've done a lot of thinking. What you want to _do_?"

JT smiled approvingly at Sara and squeezed her knee under the table. He loved her directness, and her ability to actually articulate what she was thinking. He had moments where neither of those came easy to him.

Vincent smiled at Sara. "JT really did find his perfect girl. You are direct, logical and still very female."

Sara and JT both blushed.

"I hadn't really gotten to the point of considering _next_." He cocked his head to the left, crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth. "I don't want to hurt Alex unnecessarily_._ I still care about her, but I don't want to be engaged to her anymore. I would really like to stay friends if we can, even if we need some space at first.

"I don't want to make a final decision without talking to her first, but our schedules are completely off for the foreseeable future. I refuse to have this conversation on the phone, or in text or an email; we both deserve better."

"Have you thought about asking someone to switch with one of you?" suggested Sara.

"If I switch my schedule, I can't guarantee she won't already have plans. And I can't ask them to move her schedule because it might interfere with plans she already has. And even more, if word gets out I did that, everyone will be expecting a specific announcement, and we might be talking about the opposite. We work together, and I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize either of our jobs or cause awkwardness." Vincent ran his hand through his hair again. "Maybe I will see if someone can switch with me. I need do something."

"You'll figure it out." Sara assured.

"You will," confirmed JT. "And when you do, if you want help tracking down someone else, let me know."

"No, you were right JT. I need to figure out Alex and me first. It wouldn't be fair to do anything else, for everyone involved." He sighed, and visibly relaxed. "Thanks guys."

"Anytime. I know you were a big part of the reason JT finally started talking to me sober, so I owe you," Sara grinned cheerfully. All three remaining at the table laughed at that truth.

"Right, you guys ready to head out?" At Sara and JT's affirmative nods, Vincent flagged down the waitress for the check. They paid, then started the walk back to the guys' apartment. Sara planned to grade some papers in the kitchen while they watched football. Vincent couldn't help but compare the behavior of Sara and Alex today: Alex chose to go off on her own, while Sara was joining them in location, if not activity.

Vincent, JT and Sara went to Alex's softball game that afternoon. They finished off the evening with pizza with the team and other family and friends. Vincent tried to catch Alex's attention to make plans for the next week, but was never able to. He didn't want to make a big deal out if it, and risk drawing unwanted attention, so he resolved to catch up with her the next day.

* * *

_Author's Notes - Last updated 9th January, 2013  
_

_Thanks again to everyone for your reviews. I'm so glad to know that you're enjoying it!_

_Note, I mostly won't be responding to reviews unless there is a specific question. I'd rather spend my time writing and editing to get more chapters posted._

_I did make a few typo updates to chapter 8._**  
**

Thanks to **sheeperz **for the good catch – in the last paragraph of this chapter, Vincent is trying to catch **Alex's **attention. Fixed!


	11. Wanna Bet?

_**- Saturday, 27th October, 2012 -**_

Cat and Tess walked toward the ER entrance of St. Lukes, on their way to the ICU. They were there to see an attack victim who had just woken up, and the ER doors were the only ones open at this time of night.

"I can't believe you made me wear this!" Cat complained.

"What, you look great!" Tess smirked. "All the guys in the precinct thought so too."

"If I'd known we were going to end up on call tonight, I'd have told you to take this costume and…"

"Language Cat, there could be children here."

Cat scowled at Tess, but bit her tongue. Most of what she wanted to say to Tess wasn't appropriate for the ER waiting room they'd just entered. Besides, her current predicament was really her own fault. She knew better than to bet against Tess. Tess had years of experience winning bets against her brothers, and they all ended up on the force; one was even in _vice_. "I'm never betting against you again," Cat mumbled as they walked into the ER.

"I heard that. You'd be wise, but I'll miss the fun." Tess could afford to be magnanimous. She wasn't the one tricked out in Belle's golden ball gown from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The hairstyle, low neckline, tight bodice, voluminous skirt and opera length gloves made Cat look like a helpless, pampered little princess. While Cat couldn't be farther from that stereotype, she constantly fought it due to her small stature and effortless beauty.

Cat was considering a response when she saw _him_ walk by at the end of a corridor, wearing scrubs, a white lab coat, and… a Batman tee? She stopped for a moment, stunned, then detoured to the front desk. "Excuse me, I'm Detective Catherine Chandler, we're looking for the ICU." she flashed her badge.

"Go down that hall, and take the second corridor on the right."

"Thanks. Hey, which doctors are on in the ER tonight?"

"Dr. Eva Smith and Dr. Vincent Keller. Too bad it's just the two of them, we're swamped."

"I was going to say hi, but if you guys are that busy it can wait. I'm pretty sure I met Dr. Keller recently. He's the one engaged to Dr. Moore, right?"

"That's him. Can I tell him you stopped by?"

"We'll be coming back down in a bit, I'll just see if he's free then. Thanks."

Cat turned and walked away. Tess followed quickly, giving her partner a suspicious look. "What was that about? We already know where the ICU is."

"You remember the guy I was telling you about at breakfast last Sunday?"

"The one you had the connection with?"

"Yep. Well she just confirmed that he **is** the fiancé of the birthday girl."

"That's a downer."

"That's my life. I think I'm going to take a break from men for a while."

"Because that always works so well."

"Whatever. So, remind me why I couldn't be a pirate with you?" Cat eyed Tess enviously. She was wearing a spectacular pirate outfit, reminiscent of Penelope Cruz in the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The white blouse and black corset accentuated Tess' spectacular figure, and the leather knee boots and black jeans were much more practical for a night on call, even with a faux sword at her hip. The hat was the perfect finishing touch, turning Tess into a fairly believable pirate queen. The guys at the precinct had also appreciated Tess' costume, but were mostly afraid to mention it; they weren't sure if the sword was real, or if she knew how to use it.

"The terms of the bet clearly implied that the loser wear something embarrassing. At least you look good while you're being embarrassed."

"Never again."

"That's what you said the last time."

"I was _so sure_ I was right this time."

"Cat, I don't even lose bets with my brothers anymore. They've all given up."

"I know, I know, they all told me, after they told me how hot I look in this getup. Say, what made you pick Belle from Beauty and the Beast anyway?"

Tess looked a little embarrassed, but knew she could trust her best friend. Cat might give her a hard time, but she wouldn't tell anyone else. "It's one of the few fairy tales I really like. It's about self awareness and learning, rather than just magic. And it has a strong female lead; she saves him. Helpless princesses make me twitchy."

"I'd never really thought about Beauty and the Beast that way before. You're right though. I guess I should be thanking you… and I might if I wasn't wearing a crinoline and a corset."

"Crinoline?"

"It's the poufy underskirt that makes the bottom of the skirt stand out."

"_How_ do you know these things?"

"I led a very different life before the academy."

The two detectives walked up to the front desk of the ICU, gave their names and showed their badges. "We're here to see Tommy Holt," explained Cat.

The harried looking nurse at the desk looked up, and smiled at their costumes. "Come right this way Detectives. He knows you're coming, and is ready to talk."

Cat and Tess started interviewing the victim. His memory was a bit fuzzy: he didn't remember being hit, but he did remember talking to his girlfriend's mom. While Tess answered a call from the precinct, Cat finished the interview.

"Thanks Tommy, we'll be in touch," Cat said as she walked out of the room to meet Tess in the corridor. "What was the call about?"

"Apparently they found a rather expensive watch in the second sweep of the crime scene. Additionally, they've matched the tire tracks from the scene to the girlfriend's car."

"Well, that's interesting. Let's go see what we can find out about the watch, as well as the whereabouts of the girlfriend and her mom the night he was injured." The women walked purposefully out of the hospital, planning to go back to the precinct to review the new evidence and Tommy's statement.

* * *

Vincent walked up to the front desk in the ER. "Hey guys, how's it going out here? Still busy?"

"Hey Dr. Batman. Nice costume," the senior nurse at the front desk laughed a bit.

"Thanks. I've always loved Batman. I'm glad they let us dress up, I think it helps with the kids."

"True enough. It's finally started to slow down a bit, but we're sure it will pick back up again."

"Gotcha. I'm going to take 15 for some food while we're quiet then."

"Sounds good. Oh, there was a police detective in here earlier asking for you."

"Was it something serious? You should have paged me."

"No, she said she met you and Dr. Moore at a party last week? She said not to bother you, that she'd stop on her way back through from the ICU."

Vincent wracked his brain, but couldn't think of any detectives he'd met the week before. "What did she look like?"

"Petite brunette, hazel eyes, very striking." The nurse laughed softly, "She was dressed up too, as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. The other detective was a pirate, so I guess they could have been at a party." Just as she finished her sentence, Cat and Tess walked by at the other end of the room, straight out the door. "Oh hey, there they go now."

Vincent looked up, shocked to see his perfect girl, looking gorgeous as Belle, walk past and out the doors of the ER. He thought for a minute about going after her, but he still hadn't had a chance to talk to Alex. He was heartened to know she was asking after him; maybe he wasn't crazy, maybe she felt the connection too? "Do you remember what her name was?"

"Catherine something?" the nurse thought for a moment, "uhm.. Catherine… Channing… Chandler? Maybe? I only remembered the Catherine because it's my daughter's name. The last name started with a C as well."

"Yes, that sounds right, Catherine Chandler," confirmed the other nurse.

"Thanks so much. I remembered meeting her, but couldn't remember her name. I'll catch up with her later I'm sure. I'll be back in 15."

Vincent went to the break room to grab his lunch, PB&J and an apple, as well as his tablet. He did a quick search for Catherine Chandler, NYC detective, and was able to confirm he had the right name. Vincent wasn't sure what to think: she was apparently looking for him as well, but didn't pursue after confirming it was him. Did she stop because he was engaged? Was there something else holding her back? Maybe she was just busy with the case that brought her into the hospital in the first place? Vincent resolved to talk to JT later to get a better perspective on what had just happened. And he was _definitely_ going to pin down Alex in the next week. That decided, he finished his lunch and went back to work.

* * *

_Author's Notes - 9th January, 2013_

_Thanks for all the feedback guys. Still so glad to know you're enjoying it.  
_

_Thanks to **sheeperz **for the good catch – at the end of the last chapter, Vincent is trying to catch **Alex's **attention. Fixed!_

_**ShutterbugMom**, thanks for the feedback. While I understand where you're coming from, I'm using "my perfect" instead of "the perfect" on purpose. I know that "the perfect" is more common, but I'm not pretending that Cat and Vincent are actually perfect, just that they are perfect for each other.  
_

_Yes, the victim in this chapter is from episode 4. Vincent not being a beast changes all sorts of things._

_Sorry it's going longer between updates. I had a bunch already written when I first posted, and the more I write, the more there is to remember. I'm also having an interesting time trying to figure out if I can map out the plot, or if I have to let it develop organically. Don't worry, there's a HEA in store for V and C!  
_


	12. The Truth Shall Set You Free

_**- Friday, 2nd November, 2012 -**_

It was a quiet Friday afternoon, and JT was sitting in his office on campus, grading tests from Wednesday's class. He heard a tap on his open door, and looked up to see his good friend Simon looking particularly grouchy. Simon unhappy wasn't uncommon; he taught Computer Science classes, which in the current computer savvy age resulted in a plethora of wanna be hackers as well as the smart asses who could actually hack themselves into trouble. However, the grimace currently residing on Simon's face was not of the usual variety. This looked far more pained than simple unearned ego or another flirtation with a federal warrant.

"Hey," Simon stepped fully into the room and closed the door.

"What's wrong? Will I need my Tums?"

"Well, you know I'm not big on snitching, but even more sacred is _bros before hos_," he paced back and forth across the six foot width of JT's tiny office.

"What?" JT put down his red pen, incredibly confused.

"Your roommate, Vincent, his girl, she's that hot, tall red head at some of your parties, right?"

"Yes," responded JT, cautiously. "Why?"

"And her name is Alex Moore and she's a doctor?"

"Yes, and…?"

"FUCK! I _knew_ she was too good to be true!"

"Dude! WHAT?"

"Sorry," Simon exhaled. He threw himself into one of the two chairs in front of JT's desk, a risky proposition as they were third hand from some dean's office, several years ago. The chair creaked, but held. He shook his head to clear it, then looked JT dead on. "You know I've been trying that internet dating thing, right?"

"Wait, I thought you were kidding. You mean you actually joined the site after setting up their pairing algorithms?" JT raised an eyebrow, then queried, "I thought you didn't trust the security on their site since they only paid for a student to set it up?"

"You're kidding. You know I keep a back door when I do coding. Anyone gets in, I'm ganking my data faster than campus gossip spreads on Facebook."

"Well, good for you, man, glad to see you're getting out there."

"No, you don't get it. I'm not here to plan a double date with you."

"So what then?"

"Your man's girl. **She's on my list!**"

"What? You mean Alex is on the site and they set her up with you?"

"Yep. I guess she figured she wasn't likely to be set up with someone he knew?"

JT just stared at Simon for a moment, his mouth open, appalled. "Bitch! I knew something wasn't right, but I never suspected _this_! She should have told him she wanted out before going… HUNTING! This is unbelievable!"

"You think you're mad, what's Vincent going to think?"

"You kidding? He'll be…. well, actually… huh." JT's fuming lost some steam and he looked introspective for a moment. He finally continued quietly, "he might be happy about this, given everything lately."

"So, what, I shouldn't have even bothered?" Simon pouted like a kid who'd had his Halloween candy taken away. He whined, "I was prepared to do all sorts of devious stuff, justified stuff! I never get to do that. Come on man."

"Well, let's see what Vincent actually thinks. Why don't you come over tonight and bring your laptop. We'll pick up pizza and some beer, and have a guys' night."

* * *

Vincent slouched on the couch scowling at sitcom reruns, sipping a Brooklyn Oktoberfest and thinking. Alex had bailed on their late anniversary date, with some lame excuse about another friend with guy troubles. He'd tried to get in touch with her all week, but hadn't been able to manage more than a few calls she'd cut short due to some other claimed emergency or lack of service. He'd even tried texting, but Alex had refused to be tied down to plans because she couldn't see her calendar while texting. He no longer suspected she was avoiding him; he knew she was, just not why.

He'd checked the ER schedule to see if one of them could switch with someone. Unfortunately all of the other doctors on staff for the next two weeks had inflexible schedules due to kids or previous commitments. He was starting to wonder if that scheduling inflexibility was why she'd recently transferred to the ER, though she claimed it would let them work together more…

Before he could decide if he wanted to work himself into a rage, or let himself sink into a blue funk, he heard keys in the door to the apartment. "JT, dude, perfect timing."

"Hey, I brought beer, pizza and Simon with me."

"Sounds like a party." He perked up, "What's the occasion?"

"Hey," greeted Simon," normally I'd say it was bad news, and bring a bottle of Jack, but I heard a rumor this may actually be good news."

Vincent looked confused, then grinned and joked, "You've found a way to make women stop shopping, watch sports and answer questions in a logical fashion that men can understand?"

"How could that _EVER_ be bad news? JT, you sure he's ok?"

"No, I'm sure he hasn't ever been ok. But I'm thinking this might help."

"Funny JT. Ok, what."

"Have another beer first." JT made sure they all had a beer, then motioned to Simon to explain.

"So, did JT tell you I was helping write updated algorithms for the _Find Your Match_ website? "

Vincent looked confused, but confirmed, "Yeah, he mentioned. Why?"

"Well, I figured since I was on there, and the site actually should work with some sort of reasonableness now, I'd try it out. I kept a back door, so I can remove my profile whenever I want, and it will be like I was never there."

"Uh huh…. and…"

"Well, one of my matches was Alex…. Your fiancé." Simon said it quickly, then squinted, turned his head a bit, hunched his shoulders and brought his hands up like he was bracing for impact from a raging engaged man.

Vincent stared at Simon for a moment, before looking to JT for confirmation.

"It's true, he showed me the profile. It's her: right picture, right name, occupation, neighborhood, everything."

"But….. she…. Are you sure? Show me!"

Simon opened up his laptop, logged in and showed Vincent the profile page.

It was definitely her, and her status was set to single and looking.

"I can't believe she'd do this. Why wouldn't she just tell me she wanted out?"

"Maybe she doesn't want out, maybe she just wants to sample a little to be sure she's got her favorite flavor?" quipped JT.

"Dude, I'm not an ice cream!" Vincent objected, but he laughed along with JT and Simon. The three joked about her possible reasons for using a dating site for a few minutes, but then Vincent sobered up. "Guys, what do I do now? She bailed on our anniversary and has been refusing to talk to me, or even make plans for essentially two weeks."

"Well, that's part of why I'm here, and it's not just JT telling you. We have a couple of options."

"Let's hear them. I'm all for options at this point."

Simon glanced at JT, but at his affirmative nod, he started enumerating, "Well, we can see who she's been matched with already, and pull their info."

Vincent shrugged, uninterested, "Option two?"

"I can pull her profile off the site, and then make it impossible for her to create a new account. That doesn't stop her on other sites though."

"Anything else?"

"Well, this is the devious one." Simon looked a little excited, "I found her because she was matched to me. I can go on the date anyway and see what she says."

"Or you can plan the date and I can show up instead of you."

"Vincent, maybe you should show up together. That way she can't claim you've stooped to her level," suggested JT.

"Oh, I like that. I'll meet her and after confirming she's there for a date, introduce her to a friend. As long as I can get out of claw reach before you show your face… this face is much too pretty to risk being scratched," joked Simon.

"You know, it would be funny if we could put Vincent in there, just mask the name from her, and have the date actually be with him."

"I bet I could make that happen," Simon thought for a minute. "Give me a half an hour to see what I can come up with. In the interim, Vincent, I'll need you to fill out the questionnaire; I'm going to email you a copy so I can submit it from the back end. Let me know if you have any questions, but your best bet is to be brutally honest. And hey, we'll see if my algorithms would have matched you guys. This will be interesting for scientific purposes too…"

* * *

Vincent completed the questionnaire and emailed it back to Simon. "Done and sent."

"Great, let me up load it into the system. I'll set it so we can see who you would be matched with, but no one else can see your profile."

"How tricky is that to do?"

"It's not. I actually gave them this option in case they wanted it for testing, or high profile clients; there are all sorts of use cases. But it can only be enabled by me or an admin at the company, the average user can't take advantage of this setting."

"So how the… matching work? High level I mean," JT watched curiously as Simon worked his magic.

Simon finished the manual edits to the settings on Vincent's new profile, then started the search. He opened up a web browser and navigated to the FAQ from the public facing site. "I'll run you guys through it while the system calculates Vincent's matches.

"The system is set up to take the answers to your questions and compare them to other users. When a new person is added, it compares them to other users in the system, within a specific list of parameters, starting with the closest geographic home addresses. Note, too many of exactly the same answers is just as bad as not enough; you want some similarities and some complementary characteristics. It then rates each pair on a scale of 1 to 100."

He showed them his personal chart with scores the _real_ definitions:

**Score - Public Definition - _Simon's Definition_**  
1-25 - Not Meant To Be - _Don't even try talking, just walk away now  
_26-55 - Just Friends - _You should just be friends_  
56–75 - Good Match - _It could be good, but it will be a lot of work  
_75–99 - Exceptional Match - _Nicely matched, most common match to work well_  
100 - Perfect Match - _Soul Mates, urban legend_

"Note, the live page only shows the public definitions and scores, and only the first four."

Vincent and JT looked at the levels, and laughed at Simon's definitions, especially the last one. "Really, _don't talk to me_ vs. _urban legend_?" JT joked.

"Well, I've rarely seen anything above a 95, and I've never seen a perfect match. I have the system flagged to notify me if one happens, so I can confirm it isn't a mistake." He continued, quietly, "I'd also love to know if that sort of magic is possible outside of fantasy." JT and Vincent looked at each other, but decided to pretend they didn't hear. This was clearly not something Simon meant to say out loud.

"So, what did you find for me?" inquired Vincent.

Simon clicked back over to the admin access for the dating program to check on the comparisons. "Alright, remember none of these girls can see you. It looks like we have a couple of matches for you in the 80s range."

"And Alex?"

"You and she are a… 62. Sorry man."

"Huh," Vincent was a bit taken aback. He looked over at JT, "I guess you were right, better as friends."

JT looked at Simon. "I know you programmed the algorithms, but who gave you the underlying matching criteria? How do we know this system is based on good science, or even any science?"

"It was a joint project based on several university studies. The final version was approved by the American Psychology Association. Compatibility isn't an exact science, but that's about as good as you can get."

"That's enough for me," JT laughed, sadly. "Sorry Vincent, I guess I was right, you guys are better as friends."

"Don't be sorry. It's kind of a relief. This confirms I am making the right decision." He sighed. "Simon, please set it up so I have a different name, tweak my score with Alex, and set up a blind date with her."

JT looked at Vincent, studying his face, "Are you sure? I know we joked about this, but that's pretty sneaky…"

"At this point, it's the only thing I can think of to guarantee a chance to talk to her. She's been avoiding me like the plague. I'll keep trying in the meantime, but it's already been two weeks. Please, just set it up."

Vincent gave Simon his schedule for the next two weeks, and Simon sent the invite as 'Vance' with a couple of date and time options. The guys then sat back with a few more beers to watch _The Dark Knight Rises_.

About an hour and a half later, Alex responded; her initial comment was that she had forgotten her account was still active, and she didn't think she had any available time. Simon (pretending to be Vance/Vincent) asked if she would meet for coffee, and she finally accepted for coffee at a local café, in the morning next week, Sunday the 11th of November.

* * *

_Author's Note 13th January, 2013_

_Thanks again to everyone for reviews! I welcome any feedback, including nitpicky grammar/spelling/logic feedback. _

_I added dates to the beginning of all of the chapters. It doesn't matter at the beginning, but it's starting to, and i thought it might help keep everything clearer. I know you guys want VinCat sooner, but I'm trying to write true to this world, and crunching the timing just doesn't feel right.  
_

_I also made some grammar updates to chapters as I was in them. Mostly verb tense, forgotten s's and so on. You don't need to re-read for any of these changes, they don't change the story. I'm just documenting here for the sake of completeness.  
_

___The dating website doesn't exist. I threw in a zero to be sure the site didn't go anywhere._

_Speaking of the dating site, and feedback:_

_- If __anyone has any suggestions for the "Public Definitions" of the dating website, please feel free to post them in a review or PM them. I wanted something better/funnier, but didn't want to hold up posting this chapter just for "compatibility levels"._  


_- Also, please let me know if I put in too much dating site babble. It feels like a lot, but I promise it's going somewhere. :)  
_

_17th January, 2013_ - _updated__ link that was removed with name of faux dating site_


	13. Bridesmaid Up!

_**- Sunday, 4**__**th**__** November, 2012**_

Tess arrived at Cat and Heather's around 10 am Sunday morning and buzzed to let them know she was there. The sisters were going to try on bridesmaid dresses for their cousin Lynn's wedding. Afterward they were going out to lunch with the bride, which was really the excuse to bring her to her surprise bridal shower.

Lynn worked as a technician for the city labs, which is how she became friends with Tess; it surprised everyone when Tess' new friend was Cat's cousin. Her fiancée was a surgeon at St. Luke's hospital. They'd been engaged for two years and finally got tired of waiting for their schedules to clear so they could plan a lavish wedding. Three months ago they picked a restaurant on the water in Greenwich, CT and the next available date was Saturday, the 8th of December.

The happy couple's family and friends were only a little surprised at the rush. Mostly they were happy that the two of them had finally picked a date. The condensed planning schedule did help narrow some choices, simplifying the planning process. Both the bride and groom had 3 attendants, all siblings or cousins. Cat and Heather were thrilled that Lynn was finally getting her wedding, and happy to be able to support her on her special day. Lynn and her maid of honor, her sister Susie, were taking the Subway in to meet them at the bridal salon.

Cat and Heather met Tess in the lobby, then they all piled into Cat's SUV for the trip. When they arrived, Lynn and Susie were discussing color options for gowns available immediately. After considering the cousins' complexions, Lynn decided on a dark raspberry color. The first couple of options were all floor length, but none spoke to the bride. The fourth time was the charm. The attendants wore tea length gowns with wrap draping in the bodice but different necklines: Susie had a sleeveless v-necked style, Cat had a strapless sweetheart neckline, and Heather had a halter. Lynn saw the three in their individual dresses and beamed; the dresses were similar enough they looked well together, but the varying styles added a needed touch of uniqueness.

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Lynn gushed. "I like each of you in the dress you're wearing now!"

"Wonderful miss! Those gowns are available immediately," confirmed the consultant. "Do you lades have time to do the initial fitting now?"

"Now would be great," confirmed Susie, "we expected this to take much longer. Our lunch reservation isn't until noon!"

"I'll send the seamstress over now. While she starts, shall we consider shoes?"

"Well, I'm having silver as an accent color, so I was thinking that might be fun for the shoes. What styles do you have that might work?"

"I'll bring some out for you. What sizes does everyone wear?"

All of the girls gave their shoe size, and the consultant went to see what styles she had in stock for each size. She came back out with a couple of boxes for each size. The styles included a t strap, an open toe with ankle strap, and a classic stiletto. Everyone liked the classic stilettos.

"These are great Lynn, and I'll definitely be able to re-use this color shoe," Cat was excited because these were a much more useful option than fabric dyed shoes, which you never really could wear again. "These will be great for the holidays this year."

"Oh, Cat's right, these are awesome. I'm so wearing them for New Years! Oh, I won't wear them before the wedding though," babbled Heather.

Lynn laughed, "I'm really glad you guys like them. The ability to actually wear them again was something I thought about with this color. I would appreciate if you waited to wear them until after the wedding, just in case," she winked.

"No worries Lynn, I'll just keep her shoes locked up with mine until the day of," joked Cat. Heather scowled at Cat, but then laughed along with everyone else.

"And what have we decided?" inquired the consultant.

"We'll take the stilettos in this silver color. We just need one more pair in …. this size," Susie responded, as she pulled out the box for Cat's shoes.

"Oh yes, we have another pair in back, I'll bring them out for you. Before I go, are there any other accessories you will need? Wrap or jacket, jewelry, hair accessories, gloves?"

Everyone looked at Lynn, who thought for a moment. "I'm thinking you can all bring your own wrap or jacket in case it's chilly at the reception, and I don't think it will be formal enough for gloves." She stopped and tilted her head as she looked at their necklines. "I think matching earrings, and you can all do whatever you want for your hair, I'd just like to ok the style ahead of time."

"That sounds good," agreed Susie. "How 'bout we do a practice run with the hairstyles when we have our final fittings?"

The girls all agreed to Susie's plan, and made a group appointment for their final fittings next weekend. After Cat, Heather and Susie changed back into their regular clothes, they all piled into Cat's car to go to lunch. To keep Lynn distracted about the destination, Susie and Tess started talking about their dates for the wedding, then asked Cat who she was bringing.

"Oh, no, I'm just going to go solo. I don't have anyone that I'd be comfortable bringing to a wedding."

Tess smirked, "What about Evan?"

"Oh no," Cat protested vehemently. "Not only do I not want to give Mr. Three-Months the wrong idea, since I'm not interested in him that way, but he's on some online match site too. I have _no_ need to compete with the craziness you find online."

"Come on Cat, we all know that you have a doctorate, backpacked through Europe, climbed Everest, and used to model," teased Heather.

"Yes, but I'm not a best-selling author, I haven't been on Oprah and I've only made my first million, not my first billion," countered Cat. Everyone laughed, as they'd all heard the horror stories of the faux profiles some desperate singles set up.

"It's ok Cat, when the time's right you'll find your perfect man, just like I did," soothed Lynn. She could tell that Cat was a bit frustrated, even though she joined in the banter.

"I thought I had," Cat muttered, half under her breath.

"What?" asked Heather; she was in the front seat with Cat.

"Nothing, we're here. I've heard great things about their brunch!"

Tess was pretty sure Cat was thinking about the doctor from the ER, but she let it go. Cat was clearly still struggling with being attracted to a guy who wasn't available. Plenty of time for torment down the road when she'd recovered… and she could always tease her about Evan.

The five girls walked into the restaurant. Susie gave their name, and the hostess brought them to their table. Their table in the function room with all of Lynn's female family and friends, presents and an enormous cake.

"Surprise!"

Lynn was genuinely surprised. She knew there would be a shower, but had no idea they'd been able to plan something so elaborate so quickly. She got a little weepy, but was able to choke her way through a short speech thanking everyone for coming. Susie then took over and outlined the plans for the day: buffet brunch, then games, then cake, then presents.

Tess was about to grab a seat at the closest table when she noticed that Cat was hanging back, observing. This was normal behavior when she was on duty, but not with family. "What's up?"

Cat pasted a smile on her face, turned to Tess and explained, "I'm surprised to see the redhead who is trying to look like she's _not_ avoiding looking at me on the other side of the room."

Tess looked confused, "Okaaaay, so let's sit here. We can put our stuff down, then run to the bathroom and you can explain."

The two settled their coats and handbags, then excused themselves.

* * *

"Ok, so what's with this girl? Do we need to take her outside?" Tess' default reactions to uncomfortable situations were colored by growing up in a house full of boys.

"The birthday girl from the party Evan took me to, she's the fiancée of the doctor. My _perfect guy_."

"Awkward. But why is she avoiding you?"

"Oh, huh. I don't know."

"Well, that should make it easier for you to avoid her without it being obvious."

"True."

Tess just waited, as Cat still looked unsettled. "So, what else is bothering you?"

"I'm just so…. I don't even know. How do you find someone who could be your soul mate and they aren't available. I mean, what the fuck! I must have been some kind of bitch in a past life."

"Soul mate, that's pretty deep. Come on Cat, we talked about this. If he's really meant to be that guy in your life, it will work out."

"Yeah, but if she's here, they will be at the wedding, _together._ I don't know if I can handle that."

"You're Catherine Chandler, NYPD detective. If you can go undercover with the scum of New York, you can handle this. Bridesmaid up, Cat!"

"You're right, you're right. I can always imagine her choking on cake… except I can't even hate her, she's nice." Cat stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. "Ok, I can do this. I'm a kick ass NYPD detective. I can handle 'a hive of scum and villainy' in New York, I can handle this."

"That's it, Detective. You go girl!"

"Bridesmaid up! Boo-ya!" Cat made strong arm motions, then laughed at herself.

"You good to go back now?"

"Yep, let's go. I'm going to down a mimosa and concentrate on Lisa."

"Good plan, partner."

Cat and Tess went back to the party, and proceeded to have a fabulous time with Lisa, Susie, Heather and most of the other guests. Alex even appeared to relax and enjoy herself.


	14. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do?

_**- Sunday, 11**__**th**__** November, 2012**_

Vincent watched Alex walk into The Brew Café at 10:55 am. She was supposed to meet _Vance_ at 11 am. Vincent waited across the street, disguised with a baseball cap and the upturned collar of his green jacket. He didn't want to arrive before her and chance scaring her off; he was tired of waiting to have this conversation. He headed across the street after she was seated at a table next to the window. Vincent put the ball cap in his pocket and turned down the collar of his jacket as he entered the café. He briskly strolled over to Alex's table and took a seat before she even realized he'd entered.

Alex looked up, "Vincent! What…"

"I know, Alex," he said quietly. "We really do need to talk, and this meeting was set up so we could."

A speechless Alex just stared at Vincent, utterly shocked that he was there, surprised he didn't seem angry, just… sad? "How… how did you find out?"

Vincent chose his words carefully. He didn't want to risk getting Simon in any trouble. "JT's friend Simon did some work for the _Find Your Match_ website. He was set up with you on the website, but was able to hide his profile before you saw him. He and JT told me."

"Oh, Vincent, I'm so sorry," Alex looked on the verge of tears.

"I'm not mad. I don't think I'm even as hurt by this as I probably should be. Why didn't you tell me you weren't happy?"

"I… I don't…"

"Here's your blueberry muffin, miss," interrupted the waitress. "Sir, can I get you anything?"

"Uh, I'll take a black coffee?" Vincent didn't really need the caffeine, but he figured the cup would give him something to fidget with as they chatted.

"Coming right up!"

Alex watched the waitress walk away, before turning her attention back to Vincent. "I'm sorry. I guess I woke up one day and just felt stifled. I didn't know why, but I felt like I couldn't breathe, couldn't be me. I didn't know what it was for weeks, but it finally dawned on me that I felt a better when I was out with the girls, out without you.

"I did some searching about relationships, and decided to join that site and see how it all worked. I wasn't really thinking, just figured the internet is always so anonymous. It paired me with someone I already knew, someone I'd always had a friendly connection with." Alex looked down at her mug, ashamed. "It set me up with someone I've been attracted to since he and I met. I always fought it before, since you and I are so comfortable. But I don't know if I can live with just comfortable anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Here's your coffee, can I get you anything else?" the waitress interrupted again. She could immediately feel the tension between the couple at the table, so she quickly added, "I'll give you some space. You just let me know if you need something." She took a big step back, then scurried away to her next table.

Alex took a deep breath and decided she might as well be completely honest. At this point anything else would just make things worse. "I don't know, I guess we've been together so long, and you've gone through so much, I couldn't bear to hurt you."

"You didn't think it would come out somehow? That I might wonder what was going on? That it might be worse if I found out and you weren't the one to tell me?" Vincent stopped to take a swallow of coffee and continued sadly, "I guess you never wondered if we might _both_ be happier as just friends?"

She gazed at him for a moment in confusion, trying to figure out if there was some subtext _he_ wasn't sharing with _her_.

At the redhead's continued silence Vincent decided it might help if he explained his epiphany about their relationship; he'd had more time to consider, and she was clearly surprised. "It took a complete outsider to start me thinking. We've been together for almost 10 years. I've been home for 4 years, and in all that time neither of us has pushed to set a date, get an apartment together or do any of the things couples normally do to be closer as a relationship progresses.

"I'm comfortable with you, and I care about you. But I don't think we're in love with each other anymore; now when I look back, I'm not sure we were really in love.

"I'm not angry that you registered on a dating site; I'm sad and frustrated you couldn't talk to me about it first. But I'm just as happy watching sports with JT as hanging with you, and I think you're just as happy to go out with your girlfriends as you are to hang with me. That's not the behavior of a couple in love." Vincent took a deep breath and stopped. He drank some coffee and waited to see what Alex would say.

"How can you be so nice about this?" questioned Alex, clearly confused.

"Well, I've had a bit more time to absorb all of this. I'm glad if you found someone else who truly makes you happy. For me, that's a clear indicator that even though I love you, I'm not in love with you. And if he makes you happier than I do, you aren't in love with me.

"If neither of us is in love with the other, that's easy. We can seize the chance to find our own happy endings with someone else.

"I'm sorry that you felt you had to do this behind my back, and that you couldn't talk to me about it. But I believe I understand why you handled it the way you did. I just wish I didn't have to resort to trickery to have this conversation with you."

Alex took a long swallow of her tea and considered all of what Vincent had just revealed. Vincent sat back and watched her as he sipped his coffee.

"So what now?" she finally asked.

Vincent leaned forward, "Do you still want to be engaged to me?" He waited for her answer, not prompting or offering anything additional. He needed her to answer this without prompting.

Alex closed her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry Vincent, but no. I don't want to be engaged to you anymore." She opened her eyes and wiped the tear from her face. Vincent watched her breathe in deeply, then exhale and sit back, looking as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Thank you for being honest. I don't want to be engaged either."

"Truly?"

"Really and truly. I just needed you to say it without prompting. I've done a lot of talking today."

"I don't know if I can tell you how grateful I am you did."

"No need. We talked honestly, and I appreciate that."

"What will we tell people? How will we tell people?"

"Let's tell our families first, then our closest friends. I suspect word will trickle out quickly. If we both act comfortable with this, any craziness will blow over fast enough."

"That makes sense. Oh but Robert's wedding!"

"I'll call Robert and tell him we've split, and ask him to move one of us to the other singles table. I know there's at least two."

"Are you sure?"

"We were both invited; we're both friends with him. I'm only going to ask him to move me to the other table because weddings tend to give people ideas. Splitting us up will help make our point, and should keep anyone from being too weird about it."

"Ok, that makes sense."

"So… who's the guy?" Vincent asked mischievously.

"What?"

"The one you were matched up with? Who is it?"

"Why?" she inquired suspiciously.

"I want to be sure he's good enough for you, honest. I don't do revenge. Karma is much better at it than I am."

"Dr. Evan Marks. He's one of the medical examiners for the NYPD."

"That blond English guy from your party?"

"That's him."

Alex's confirmation stopped Vincent for a moment, though he couldn't figure out why. "No wonder he avoided me…" he trailed off as he tried to remember why else that name was important. It finally dawned on him: Evan was the one embracing Catherine on the lawn at Alex's birthday party! But now wasn't time to dwell on that.

"He seems like a good guy, I wish you luck."

"That's entirely too sweet of you."

"I told you, I still want you to be happy."

"Well thank you."

"So, I'll let Dr. Zalanski know about this change, just so he's aware as the head of the ER. I'll be seeing him tonight for my shift."

"He's in tonight? I may come in and talk to him. I was approached by Internal Medicine about changing departments last month. I didn't really think about it at the time because it was convenient to be scheduled with you."

"Only if that's what you really want to do. Don't just leave to get away from me or the gossip."

"I'm not, I promise. I've never really loved the ER. It's too rushed."

"I'm on at 6pm if you want to come in with me, and we can share the initial news together. That should squelch some of the bad rumors that could circulate."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then. I think I'm going to head home, make some tea then call some people."

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I am actually. The more I think about all of this, the more right it feels. Thank you for forcing the issue. I'm just sorry you had to."

"Thank you for being honest with me today." Vincent pulled out $5 and set it on the table. "That's for me, including a nice tip for her letting us be. Do you want me to wait to pay?"

"That's ok, I'll take care of it. I want to get a bag for my muffin anyway."

"Ok, see you tonight."

Vincent leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek, with one hand on her upper arm. He then turned and walked out the door, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time.

After Vincent left, Alex closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, then let it out slowly. She opened her eyes, still overwhelmed by the conversation, but relieved. It was finally all out in the open, and it seemed everyone was better for it. Alex decided to stay and finish her muffin, as the anonymity of the café would provide more privacy for her to process these changes than home and her roommates.

* * *

_Author's Note 17__th__ January, 2012_

_Sorry I haven't been able to post sooner. Real life keeps getting in the way of writing and editing. But at least it's two chapters, one for Cat and one for Vincent! And the end of Vincent and Alex! Just in time given those crazy photos they are teasing us with. (Nothing against Alex or the actress, but I'm a VinCat shipper.)_

_Thanks again for all of your reviews everyone!_ _I can't tell you how great it is to know you're all so eager to read more… but I suspect most of you know how that feels._

_I'm entertained by the guesses. And the details you guys are catching. Please feel free to keep speculating!_

_Rose, I can't reply directly, but I want to assure you that Vincent and Cat together should be coming in the next few chapters. I can't promise when exactly because I only have it outlined, not written, and sometimes the characters surprise me. But, it should be soon._


	15. It's a Small World After All

_**- Sunday, 11**__**th**__** November, 2012 -**_

Vincent relaxed watching Sunday football with JT and a couple of their friends. He done some thinking that afternoon and decided to lie low for a week and give himself a chance to clear his head before engineering some way to actually meet Catherine. Ah, Catherine.

His daydreams were interrupted by the Nerf football JT threw at his chest. Vincent's hands automatically came up to catch the ball, but the initial impact did successfully break him out of his reverie. "Man, JT, what the hell?"

"What has you so distracted that you can't hear someone sitting right next to you?"

Vincent looked down sheepishly, ran his hand through his hair, then turned to his friend, "Sorry Robert, what's up?"

"We still on for the final tux fittings this Saturday?"

"Yeah, sure. 10 am?"

"That's it. Thanks again man, I know this whole wedding was short notice."

"I'm happy to be there to support you. Though I have a request you may not be so happy to hear…"

"What's up?"

"Well, you know Alex and I aren't together anymore."

"I don't think news has ever spread faster at the hospital."

"Well, we're still friendly, but we're not going to be attending your wedding together. Is there any way you can move one of us at the reception? I'll happily sit at any other table."

"Man, you have no idea... that's great. Lynn wanted to switch someone at the other singles table. Apparently one of the bridesmaids is fed up with everyone trying to get her together with some guy, so if she can swap the two of you, she'll be in heaven!"

"Sweet, anytime I can help." Vincent smirked.

"Oh Vincent, you're such a good friend," mocked JT.

Vincent threw the football back at JT as they all laughed.

* * *

Robert got home after football, and was a little surprised to find his fiancée, Lynn, still awake. On the other hand, it looked like she was deep in wedding prep mode, so maybe it wasn't all that shocking. "Hey hun, anything I can do to help?" he inquired. He leaned over to kiss her forehead, then to study the pages in front of her.

"It's the seating chart. I just wanted to look it over one last time, and be sure I haven't missed anyone, and that the fighters aren't sitting near each other."

"Well, I have a request for an update. The reason for the request isn't necessarily happy, but the request should make you happy."

"Dear, please just spit it out; it's late and I'm tired."

"Not sure if I told you, but Vincent and Alex aren't together anymore."

"Oh that's awful. They were cute together and they'd been together for…. forever. Wow, that's crazy."

"I've seen them both since. They actually seem happier."

"I'm glad then. So what's the request, to move one of them?"

"Vincent asked if you could move him. I thought you could swap him with the guy Cat doesn't want to sit with."

"Evan? Yes, she made it abundantly clear she only likes him as a friend the other day. _**I**_ got it, but she's not sure everyone else will, so she'd prefer not even appear to be paired with him. This is perfect, I swap 2 guys and the tables stay balanced!"

"Aren't Cat and Vincent walking together anyway?"

"Oh yeah, they are. Hey, have they met yet?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well, I'll be sure to sit them together at the rehearsal dinner then."

"Great, now come to bed." Robert winked as he grabbed her hand to pull his fiancée down the hall towards their bedroom.

* * *

_A/N: 23rd Jan, 2012_

_I know it's short, that's why I waited to update this with chapter 16. It would have been too much to put this and the next chapter together. _

_Full update notes at the end of that chapter._


	16. It's a Trap!

_**- Thursday, 15**__**th**__** November, 2012**_

Heather walked into O'Leary's just after 6pm. The pub was a convenient location for the two of them to meet, plus it had WiFi, food, adult beverages and a friendly owner and wait staff who wouldn't mind if they sat around all night. She looked around and almost instantly saw Tess in a booth at the far end of the bar. "Hey girl, thanks so much for meeting me!" she exclaimed, as she set down her bags and shed her coat.

"You know I'm always up for a good time. Plus, it sounded like you're plotting something, and you know how I love pulling a fast one, especially with Cat."

"Ha! Why do you think I asked you! I think between the two of us, we know Cat well enough for what I've got in mind…"

"Oh?" Tess smirked and raised an eyebrow," and what's that?"

"She's turning into an old maid, and she's not even 30 yet! She needs to get out, and date, before her bits and pieces all dry up and shrivel away."

"Ew. I don't think she's in much danger of that, trust me."

"Well, I don't want to risk it. It's bad enough she's planning to go to Lynn's wedding single. She'll be stuck at the single's table, telling the waiter who ordered what!"

"Hey now, Lynn's marrying a Doctor. I heard there will be plenty of eligible bachelors from the hospital."

"You and I both know most men can't keep up with her, especially a doctor with no time on his hands. Most guys bore her, or treat her like a delicate china doll, and she has no patience for either."

"Well that's true."

"Right, so I figured between the two of us, we can answer enough questions to set her up on a dating site, and maybe find her someone to bring to the wedding. Someone who can challenge her."

"I don't know about that. Most guys avoid wedding dates like the plague, because they figure it gives the girl the wrong idea, and sadly they are all too often right."

"Come on Tess, it's worth a shot."

"Hey, this promises to be entertaining either way. Trust me, I'm in."

"Schweet! I hoped you'd say that. So…"

"Excuse me ladies. Sorry to interrupt. I'm Frank. What can I get for you tonight?" inquired the bartender.

"What do you have on tap?"

"Bud, Bud Light, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Sam Light, Blue Moon, Newcastle, Coors and Pabst Blue Ribbon."

"I'll take a Sam Light and a pepperoni pizza. Heather?"

"Uhm, I guess a Blue Moon and a mushroom and onion pizza."

"Sounds good ladies. I'll have those drinks over to you in a moment." The bartender departed with a wink and a nod.

Tess just raised an eyebrow at Heather.

"So, I was thinking we sign her up for a dating site. You know she'd never do it on her own. We'll just tell her they are blind dates, not how we found the guys. You see why I needed help? You know a different side for her, and we'll need that for the questionnaire. I couldn't fill it out myself, they wanted too much info."

"She's right, you are crazy."

"Whaaaaat? I don't know what you're talking about." Heather pretends, badly, to look innocent. "You're still in, right?"

"Of course I'm in. Just because I think it's crazy doesn't mean I don't want to watch it crash and burn."

"Hey now, I don't think it's going to be that bad. Between the two of us, we know her pretty well."

"Let's just get started on these questions. What site are you using?"

"I picked _Find Your Match_ because a couple of girls at school had good luck there recently." Heather moved over to sit on the same side of the booth as Tess. "This will be easier." She opened her laptop and loaded the site, just in time for the bartender to bring back the drinks.

"Here you are, two beers for two lovely ladies."

"Thanks," said Tess as he set down her Sam Light.

"Thanks," noted Heather absently, as he set down her Blue Moon.

"Shall I start you a tab? It looks like you'll be here a while if you're completing dating site surveys."

"Oh, they're not for us, we're filling this out for my sister!" sputtered Heather, "She needs to get out more."

"Well, I hope she doesn't kill you. Mine would kill me."

"Oh no, it will be fine. I have help for her survey, so we should actually get good matches."

"It wouldn't matter if the dating site matched my sister with Jay Ryan, she'd still kill me."

"Yeah, but I bet she'd date him anyway," snarked Tess.

"Oh so true. Well, I wish you ladies the best of luck. The pizzas will be out shortly."

"Thanks!" gushed Heather, smiling in anticipation.

The two women started filling out the form. Heather typed and Tess commented, frequently, when she had something to add. Some of Tess' input surprised Heather, who didn't know about Cat's fascination with a certain doctor. Two bar pizzas, two shots of tequila and a few beers later, they completed the profile.

"Now all we have to do is wait."

"Just make sure you keep me updated. I want to help pick who she dates."

"No worries. I want to be able to share blame if any of these dates piss my sister off."

"Ha, I'm not scared. I have a gun. You just have your sisterly hair pulling skills. I bet they're out of practice too!"

"Maybe we'll find her perfect man. She won't be mad then…"

"I'll see if he shows up as a match." Tess snarked, half under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, just promise I can help pick."

"Of course."

"Say, how soon can matches show up?"

"Uhm…" Heather scrolled around the site, slowly, as she was now a bit buzzed, "uhm, it looks like within 20 minutes!"

"Oh, let's wait and see if she gets any instant matches!"

"Genius! How did I never know how smart you are before?"

"Millions don't. I usually don't share, don't want word getting out, but I trust you. So, how's your love life?"

Heather giggled as she settled in with Tess for a good old fashioned gossip fest while they waited for matches to appear. After about 10 minutes, they started seeing matches show up, but they were all 65 or below, nothing was a great fit. They decided not to bother with anything that low, but just wait and see if someone with a better match rating was added at some point. They determined to drown their disappointment with a few more adult beverages before heading home.

* * *

Simon sipped his beer, enjoying Thursday night football. Sara had a late class on Thursdays, so JT and Simon had standing plans to hang, and watch football if it was on. Vincent would normally join them, but he had volunteered to cover a friend's shift so she could go out with her husband for their anniversary.

Simon had silenced his phone, but checked it at half time. He muttered, under his breath, as he scrolled through the messages. "spam, mom, I'll check that later, student, spam, dating site notification for V, dating site notification for UL?" he stopped, confused by the message, and pulled out a laptop. He pulled up the admin panel for the site, saw the two notifications and opened the UL message. '_Perfect Match: Vincent Keller and Catherine Chandler in New York, NY_' he read.

"You have got to be kidding me." Simon exclaimed, incredulous. "You are never going to believe this."

"What's up?"

"Remember when I showed you the ranking system for matches, and I said perfect matches were an urban legend?"

"Ha, those unofficial definitions were great."

"Right, but remember how I said that perfect matches were actually an urban legend?"

"Yeah, why? Did you… did you get notification of one?"

"Oh yeah, for _**Vincent**_!"

"That's crazy. Especially since he thinks he's already found the perfect girl."

"What! Who?"

"Oh, crap, I wasn't supposed to share that. It's a girl he hasn't met. I think it might be the sister of one of my students."

"What's her name?"

"Uhm… damnit I can't remember her name. Her sister, my student, is Heather Chandler," JT tried to remember the sister's name.

"Is her sister Catherine?"

"That's right, how did you know."

"It's completely freaky man. That's who he's matched with."

"What? She's on there and they actually _**are**_ perfect for each other? That's crazy!"

"You have no idea. The odds on this are ridiculous."

"So did she just register?"

"Yeah, funny though, this email is for Heather, not Catherine. Hmm… this IP looks familiar."

"You recognize IP addresses?"

"Only if I set up the network. Hang on."

Simon dialed O'Leary's. After a quick conversation, he confirmed there were two girls hanging out, and that they'd been on and off a laptop all night on a dating site; they'd both used a card for their tabs, so he was even able to confirm it was Heather and a Tess Vargas. Simon convinced Mr. O'Leary to keep them there until he arrived.

"JT, lets go."

"What?"

"I'll explain on the way. We're going down to O'Leary's."

JT finished his beer quick, while Simon grabbed a messenger bag for his laptop. They both snagged their jackets, then set out for O'Leary's. It was just a block away, just far enough for Simon to explain. "I'm pretty sure that Catherine didn't register. I think her sister and a friend did it for her. I've seen this behavior before on the site. If you know someone well enough, you can sign them up. Usually it's mothers though, not sisters."

"So we're going down there..."

"To confirm I'm right. If I am, we'll set up a blind date, and be sure it's somewhere we can watch."

"I know I should be disapproving right now, but it would be fun to put one over on Vincent."

"What else are friends for?" The two laughed at the thought of giving Vincent a hard time about his dream girl and a blind date.

* * *

JT and Simon walked into O'Leary's. Simon caught Frank O'Leary's eye, who nodded towards Heather and Tess in a booth at the far end. Simon nodded in acknowledgement and they headed over.

"Hey, I can introduce us, since I already know Heather," suggested JT.

"That's good. We can always have Frank vouch for us too."

"Hope we won't need that."

Heather and Tess were deep in conversation, so they didn't notice the guys until they were standing at their table.

"Good evening ladies," began JT.

Heather and Tess looked up. "Hey Professor Forbes! How's it going?" Heather inquired.

"Good, thanks Heather. This is my friend Simon."

"Hey Simon. This is my friend Tess." Heather turned to Tess, "This is my bio chem teacher, Professor Forbes."

"Just JT is fine tonight. Do you mind if we have a seat?"

"Go ahead," encouraged Tess, as she looked the two guys over. JT was cute in a geeky, cuddly way, but Simon definitely had the hot geek thing going on. Tess was secretly a sucker for smart guys, especially if they kept in shape.

"Thanks," said Simon. He was trying to figure out where to start explaining when Frank walked over.

"Hey guys, what can I get for you?"

"I'll have a Newcastle. JT?"

"Sam Light please."

"Coming right up guys."

"Thanks Frank," said Simon. He decided to plunge ahead with the blunt and honest truth. "This is going to sound a bit strange, but the Frank will vouch for us. Please just hear us out."

"We're listening," said Tess, suspiciously.

"We'd like to talk to you about dating websites. Did you register Catherine Chandler on the _Find Your Match_ site tonight?"

"Oh my God, how'd you know!" exclaimed Heather.

"How did you know? And why are you asking?" Tess inquired warily.

"I do some web and support work for them. A friend of ours joined the website, but his account isn't active at the moment. He's single though, so I set the system to let me know if anyone joined who was an Exceptional Match for him."

"Wait, is Cat a match?" Heather gushed, "Oh we were so disappointed she didn't have anything above a 65."

"Actually, she's been matched in a rather unique way."

"How so?" Tess raised an eyebrow at Simon.

"Here you go boys," interrupted Frank. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do, thanks," confirmed JT.

Simon picked back up the previous conversational thread, "What I'm about to tell you is confidential, so please don't share it with anyone." Both Tess and Heather agreed to keep the information private.

"The site says the scale goes to 99, but it actually goes to 100. Technically we call that a Perfect Match, but privately I call it the Urban Legend." Everyone laughed. "Matches above 95 are incredibly rare, and in all the testing we did, we never found anyone above a 99, so we cut the published scale there. However, Perfect Matches are theoretically possible. Based on the profile you created for her, Catherine and our friend Vincent are a perfect match.

"And that's why we're here tonight. Would you be interested in setting them up on a blind date?"

"Hell yeah," Tess grinned.

"Of course," agreed Heather.

"Is Catherine free next Saturday?" inquired JT.

"Well, we have our final dress fittings for the wedding in the morning, but then we're free," said Heather.

"Ha, that's funny. Vincent has final fittings for our tuxes for a wedding next Saturday too," laughed JT.

"Tell me it's not for the Grabel-Cameron wedding on December 8th," quipped Tess.

"You're kidding," scoffed Simon.

"No, Cat and I are in it," Heather speculated softly, "We were wondering who she'd be walking with. Is he the best man?"

"No, he'll be second," confirmed JT.

"This is perfect. Lynn is our cousin, so I'll let her know. She'll be thrilled to encourage this budding romance," gushed Heather.

"This is going to be so much fun to watch! Back to the blind date: how about dinner next Saturday? There's this great tapas place around the corner," suggested Tess.

"I've been there, it's great," confirmed Simon. "You know Tess, if they balk at a blind date, we could always double with them," he suggested.

Amazingly, Tess blushed the tiniest bit, but agreed, "Cat would be more likely to go if I beg her to be my wingman. Plus, it saves us from having to be sneaky to spy on them."

"Great! So we'll plan to meet at _Tapas Tapas_ at 6pm next Saturday? I'll make a reservation."

"Sounds good. Hey, we should switch numbers in case one of them has plans or something comes up."

The tips of Simon's ears turned a little pink, "Sounds good."

Tess and Simon opened their phone address books, navigated to enter a new entry, then swapped phones. After adding their data in the phones they swapped back. That taken care of, the four decided to watch the last quarter of the football game before going their separate ways.

* * *

_Author's Notes: 23rd January, 2013_

_Added chapters 15 and 16. There was too much for one chapter, and no good break point for 16 to split it differently. 15 has been done for a while, but I didn't want to tease you guys that way. _

_Sorry it's been so long again between updates. Real life is still interfering with my fantasy/writing life. le sigh. lols.  
_

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Reviews are always welcome! Responses to review questions and comments below. Sorry I'm not including names, but I think I answered everyone.  
_

_I'm sorry there wasn't any actual VinCat time. I promise there will be. I'm not going to promise next chapter, but soon. I'm a little nervous about writing them together, so it may take some time so I can be sure I do them justice.  
_

_Apparently my subconscious likes hooking people up. I didn't plan for Tess and Simon to hit it off...  
_

_Glad you guys liked the Alex/Evan twist. hehe, tidy way to take care of them both.  
_

_Yes, several of you pegged the Urban Legend thing, good catch.  
_

_Most of the places in this FanFic are fictional. I've tried to do the geography within NYC reasonably, but didn't bother finding real restaurants and bars as they might not be convenient. Plus, it's taking me long enough to write all of this without doing real research...  
_

_I've noticed that Cat drives a lot, even though she lives in NYC. I'm guessing as a detective it's necessary/convenient. Also, I'm guessing she doesn't worry about parking tickets. The dress shop and the wedding shower are in the city, but Cat drove so she could ferry all of Lynn's shower gifts home.  
_

_Just for the sake of saying it, yes the dating site is 100% fake. Such a cheesy name._


	17. Everybody's Talking 'Bout

**_- Friday, 16th November, 2012 -_**

Heather woke up in an incredibly good mood, even though her alarm hadn't gone off yet. Halfway through her shower she was finally awake enough to remember why she was so happy: Cat's match! Now, how to play this cool so Cat didn't guess something was up… best to grab coffee and head straight out the door; don't stay to chat. Blame any giddiness on the upcoming holidays and Lynn's wedding. This could work!

Luckily for Heather's acting skills, her sister left for a run while she was in the shower, so she was able to enjoy a cup of coffee before leaving for work. On her walk to work she called Lynn to catch her up on the past evening's events.

"Hey Heather, what's up?"

"Hey Lynn, how'd you know it was me?"

"You called my cell. Your number is programmed into it…"

"Ah right, silly me. Anyway, I just wanted to share the most delicious news."

"That good?"

"Oh yeah." Heather laced the affirmation with innuendo.

"Well?"

"So, I decided that Cat needs a man."

"You're not wrong, but what did you do?"

"Tess and I signed her up for a dating site?"

"She's going to KILL you." Lynn laughed, horrified and entertained. "What site?"

"_Find Your Match. _A friend recommended it. And I bet she doesn't kill me. I used my email address, so she won't get any of the contacts."

"She's a detective, I'm sure she'll figure it out."

"That's not even the best part."

"There's more? Oh God, what did you do?"

"Turns out she had a really good match on the site. Long story short…"

"This is the short version?" Lynn interrupts.

"_Anyway_" Heather continues, annoyed, "we met some friends of her perfect match. One of the friends is going on a date with Tess next Saturday, and they will drag Cat and her match along."

"You sure Cat and this guy will go?"

"I'm sure Tess can talk Cat into just about anything. And the friend seemed pretty sure of himself."

"Well let me know how it turns out."

"No worries, you'd be finding out even if I didn't call you."

"What else could you and Tess have possibly done?"

"Not us, the site. It matched Cat and Vincent."

"Vincent? Vincent **Keller**?" Lynn asked incredulously.

"Yep, it's like fate!

"Wow… can't argue with you there. That's crazy. You know, they're walking together, so I just sat them together at the rehearsal dinner, and the reception. I sure hope they get along."

"Bet they will. Listen, I think we're going to try to do a girls' brunch Sunday morning after the date. You in? That way we can get all the gossip first hand."

"You better believe it. I'll suggest that Robert do the same with Vincent, and we can compare notes!" Lynn squeals, "This is so exciting!"

"It so is! Hey, I'm at work, I'll talk to you later."

"Later."

* * *

Lynn was so excited she couldn't wait to tell Robert. She really wanted to call him and gush, but since he was on shift at the hospital and this wasn't an emergency, she settled for a text.

-_Remember how we were going to set up Cat and Vincent? Never guess what happened.-_

_ -I thought we agreed to just have them sit together?-_

_ -Same thing. Anyway, they were matched on a dating site.-_

_ -Cat is on a dating site?-_

_ -No, Heather and Tess signed her up. You can't tell.-_

_ -NOT getting in the middle of that.-_

_ -They will be going on a double date with Tess and one of the guys next Sat.-_

_ -Sounds like trouble.-_

_ -I'm having brunch with the girls a week from Sunday so I can find out how it went. You need to have brunch with the guys to find out Vincent's side.-_

_ -You know I don't interfere.-_

_ -Not interfering, just making sure they hit it off well and we don't have to deal with bad vibes at the wedding. Please, for me?-_

_ -Sneaky. Good thing I love you. I'll make plans with the guys.-_

_ -Thanks hun. Love you. Talk later.-_

* * *

Tess put some thought into how she was going to ask Cat to double date with her. Best option; nonchalant, make it all about the guy she was seeing, not the guy with Cat… ya, should work.

"Hey Partner." Tess sauntered into the office and slung herself into her chair.

"Hey _Partner_. You're in a good mood."

"Yep, and you're going to help keep me that way."

"I am? Do tell."

"You're going to come with me on a double date next Saturday."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. You're going to wear one of those cute little dresses that usually only get some action when we're undercover, and you're going to help me have a good time."

"Exactly how much action are we talking here?"

"Dinner, at _Tapas Tapas_." Tess begged a little, "You know you like tapas."

"So who's the guy?"

"Mine? Met him at the bar last night and hit it off. He's some sort of programmer and professor at Columbia."

"Not your usual type," Cat raised an eyebrow, a bit suspicious.

"Oh come on Cat, he's hot. He takes care of himself. Plus, he's not a Neanderthal like so many around here."

"And his friend?"

"Not sure. We both agreed to bring a single friend so we'd have someone to talk to if dinner got weird."

"Tess! It's bad enough you want me to go on a blind date, but you don't even know who he's bringing?"

"His friend last night was another professor from Columbia, but he's already got a girlfriend. Come on, Cat. He's not likely to bring some loser."

"If I do this, you owe me."

"No problem."

"And if it turns out badly, you owe me double."

"Fine." Tess smirked, "as long as you agree that if it turns out he's perfect for you, **you**owe **me**."

"Sure, whatever," Cat agreed absently. She figured chances of the date going _that_ well were practically impossible. And if it did go that well, it would be worth owing Tess.

* * *

Simon considered his options, and decided to text Vincent. It would be easier to keep from giving anything away via text; no chance of his voice or facial expressions giving anything away.

_- V, you free next Saturday night? I need a favor. -_

_ - Sure, what's up? -_

_ - Need someone to come with me on a double date. -_

_ - Sorry, have to do laundry. -_

_ - BS. Come on, help me out. All my other single friends are busy. _

_ - Desperate much? -_

_- This girl was smoking. You don't have to marry her friend, just be nice at dinner. Besides, JT is going out with Sara. You'll be at home watching cheesy movies on broadcast TV.-_

_ -You never know, I could end up watching mediocre dramas on the CW. –_

_ -See, I'd be doing you a favor. Stop acting like a grounded teenage girl and come out with me.-_

_ -Fine, but you owe me.-_

_ -No problem. But if you hit it off with this girl, you owe me.-_

_ -Whatever. Where are we going?-_

_ -_Tapas Tapas _at 6pm_._ Everyone likes tapas.-_

_ -Fine. Added to my calendar.-_

_ -Thanks man.-_

* * *

_Author's Note 28__th__ January, 2013_

_Next post will have the date, I promise. Normally I wouldn't promise, because the characters seem to have a life of their own, but I've already started writing it. I can't post yet because I haven't finished or edited it yet. But it is coming!_

_I was going to hold off on these snippets of plot progression (and plotting) and post it all at once, but didn't want to leave you guys hanging too long since they were already written and edited._

_Thank you all for the reviews/comments. You're all so encouraging! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. Feel free to keep the feedback coming. _

_Italics and dashes at the front and end are meant to indicate Texting.  
_


	18. The Set Up

**_- Saturday, 24th November, 2012 -_**

"I'm glad Lynn decided on vests instead of cummerbunds." Vincent looked at himself in the mirror at the tux shop. The tailor had just finished putting in pins, and the tux fit beautifully, accentuating his muscular build.

"What makes you think Lynn decided?" Robert sounded insulted.

"We all know that you have no fashion sense, which is why you like wearing scrubs. It's also why Lynn buys all your clothes, and selects your outfits when you're wearing anything dressier than jeans and a tee."

Robert couldn't help but laugh with Vincent, since they both knew he was right.

"So I hear you're going on a double date with Simon tonight?"

"He begged. Apparently his date is smokin', but she insisted on bringing a friend."

"Any info on the friend?"

"Nope. I'm not expecting anything other than standard wing man duties."

"Well, you never know. Life can be funny."

"I've noticed my life is frequently hysterical," Vincent let a little sarcasm leak.

"That's not what I meant. Just go with an open mind."

"Suuurre. I'm not looking for anything right now."

"Ever notice that stuff happens when we don't expect it?"

"Dude, drop it."

"Fine. Hey, want to do brunch tomorrow? Lynn has brunch plans with some of the girls."

"All right, 10 am at the usual diner?"

* * *

Robert sent a group text to JT and Simon.

_-Brunch tomorrow? V already agreed. 10am-_

_ -Wouldn't miss it. Usual diner?- _Simon responded.

-_Yes, usual diner.-_ Robert confirmed.

-_I'm in too! Just us guys, or can I bring Sara?- _inquired JT.

-_Your call, if you think he will talk in front of her. -_ Robert didn't know how much Sara knew.

-_She knows all about it. I'll see if she wants to come. See you tomorrow.- _

* * *

"So, what are you wearing tonight?" Heather asked. She, Lynn and Susie were badgering Cat for info on her double date with Tess while standing and waiting through the final bridesmaids dress fittings.

"Oh, I don't even know."

"Where are you going?" inquired Susie.

"_Tapas Tapas_, which is mid range. People go there dressed for the opera, and in jeans. I have no idea what to wear." Cat sounded a little bit desperate.

"Don't wear anything you would wear for a normal day at work. No jeans or tees," declared Lynn.

"No worries, Tess and I talked and we'll both be wearing dresses and heels."

"Well, you have that red strapless number, that boring LBD you wear for funerals," Heather ran through the dresses she knew Cat had out loud, "oh and that delicious black with the lace overlay and three quarter sleeves! You should _definitely_ wear that. Classy and sexy!"

"The black and lace sounds good, Cat", seconded Susie.

"Oh yeah, I've seen you in that dress Cat, wear the lace one," agreed Lynn.

"You sure that's not too dressy?" questioned Cat, displaying her insecurity about her impending doom, as she thought of it.

"Just don't pair it with pearls and you're fine. Do casual earrings and leave your hair down and easy," soothed Lynn.

"Oh and fun shoes!" exclaimed Heather, "You can even borrow my Louboutin's."

"I like the idea of fun shoes, but I don't think I want to go as bold as to Louboutin red. I have those dusty rose shoes from that wedding a few years ago, and a purse and earrings that coordinate."

"I remember that wedding. The dresses were hideous, but the accessories were fabulous!" gushed Heather.

"That sounds like that middle ground you wanted between boring classic and too bold," agreed Susie.

Lynn nodded in confirmation, then started the process to get all the good gossip, "So, you ladies all up for brunch tomorrow morning around 10 am?"

Everyone agreed to brunch. Cat texted an invite to Tess, who immediately agreed. Tess knew the other girls would all be eager to hear Cat's impression of the date, and this way she wouldn't have to pry too much.

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTES 7th February, 2013  
_

_Updated multiple chapters: 18-20_

_Dresses listed for Cat:_

_- The red strapless dress from the pilot  
- A random dress (doesn't everyone have a LBD?)  
- The lace dress from the gallery evening, episode 6: Worth_


	19. First Date Begins

_**- Saturday, 24**__**th**__** November, 2012 -**_

Vincent took a pull from his beer, then scowled at Simon. "Why are we here early?"

"I told you, I don't want the girls to have to wait for us when they get here. It's the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Gentlemanly? This girl must be something spectacular if you're worrying about that."

To his own surprise, Simon blushed slightly; when Vincent said 'spectacular' his first thought was of Tess, not the excuse… uh _**reason**_ for the date: to actually get Vincent and Cat together. He finally managed to gather his thoughts enough to taunt, "You'll see when they get here."

"Whatever man, you said they knew to meet us in the bar," Vincent shrugged and turned back to watch the hockey game on the TV above the bar. He could still see the entrance, more or less, in the mirror behind the bottles. He wasn't going to recognize their dates anyway, so he didn't see any reason to watch the door instead of the game. Besides, Simon was watching the door.

A few minutes later, a husky laugh caught his attention. He looked in the mirror, and saw a flash of dark, dark hair and an enchantingly sly smile. Vincent froze; it couldn't be her, here, now? What was she doing here? "_Don't panic Keller, finish your beer and see if it's really her_." He quickly swallowed the last of his beer and put down the bottle before deliberately turning toward the door.

What was Simon doing shaking her hand?

Vincent stared for a moment, then managed to shut his mouth and step forward as Simon motioned to him. "Tess, Cat, this is my good friend, Dr. Vincent Keller."

Vincent stepped forward eagerly. He didn't know how they'd managed this, but his date tonight was his perfect girl. Fate had found her for him! He reached his hand forward towards perfection. "Please, call me Vincent."

"Catherine Chandler," she responded quietly, as she gently entrusted her hand to him.

He wasn't sure what possessed him, but he drew her hand up and pressed a brief kiss to the back. "I'm so happy to meet you, Catherine," he smiled, now eager for the date he'd been prepared to suffer through.

* * *

… _5 minutes earlier…_

"You know, I was happy to drive tonight; parking is so much cheaper than a cab." Cat complained to Tess as they sat in the back of a cab on the way to their date.

Tess grinned, "No, I want us both to be able to enjoy the evening without having to worry about getting home. I wasn't about to take the subway in these heels, and I don't want to have to worry about the car later."

"You know blind dates have never worked out for me. I'm glad you're so sure you're going to have a good time, but please don't get your hopes too high for me."

"Come on Cat, keep an open mind. You look sexy and sophisticated, I'm looking hot. I've got a date with a hot, smart guy. You have a date with his doctor friend, who probably is smart and hot too. Thousands of girls would kill to be in your smexy shoes."

"Well, next time bring one of them!"

"Oh no Chandler, I needed my wing woman."

"I know, I know. I'm here for you, but that's all Tess."

"I appreciate that you got all dolled up for me, even though you're not really my type." Both women giggled, "but please, Cat, keep an open mind. You never know, you might hit it off with this guy. In fact, I _**bet**_ you hit it off with him."

"Oh **no**, not that again. No bets! Halloween wasn't that long ago. Look, I promise to keep an open mind," Cat scrambled to excuse herself from agreeing to any semblance of a bet with Tess. Not that it mattered if she agreed, but Cat hadn't discovered that aspect of her partner's betting superpoweryet: once Tess offered to bet, she always won.

"Good enough. Oh here we are!" Tess leaned forward and paid the cab driver, then unfolded her sleek length as she slid out of the car.

As Tess paid, Cat checked behind her, then quickly swiveled to get out during a break in traffic. She walked briskly around the back of the cab to the sidewalk. "So before we go in, what's your goal for tonight anyway? I ask strictly in the interest of being a good wing woman."

"What?"

"You looking to test the waters, take him home tonight, get a second date, see if he's the one, start planning how many kids you'll have…?" Cat laughed as Tess' eyebrows kept getting higher as she ran down the impromptu list.

Tess shrieked with laughter, "Test the waters, maybe second date? Jeez Cat, you're way over-thinking this. Just enjoy yourself."

"I'm going to, but…"

"But nothing. If this does work out, I'll want my friends to get along with his. In fact, I've heard that friend compatibility is a huge factor in determining if a relationship will last."

"Cosmo statistics aren't real, " the petite brunette mocked.

"Go with it, and keep me happy. Knowing you're here if I need you, for an escape to the bathroom or excuse to run to work is plenty," Tess returned, as she opened the door to the restaurant.

Cat walked through the door, into the bar where they were meeting the guys. She looked back at her partner, "Just for you." They both laughed; as partnered female detectives they were used to having the other's back.

The two brunettes took a few steps into the bar and paused to look around. Tess recognized Simon and raised her hand in a little wave; she walked towards him and clasped both of his outreached hands. The tall girl turned, "Simon, this is my friend and partner, Cat Chandler."

"Cat, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well Simon," Cat shook his hand and looked for his friend. There wasn't anyone obviously with him, but there was a tall man with a swoon-inducing back view (dark hair, broad shoulders, trim waist and tight ass) who had just set down a beer and was turning towards them. He looked familiar… and oh, it _was _him! All thoughts fled from Cat's mind as she stared, with her mouth slightly open, at her perfect man. Who was reaching for her hand!

"Tess, Cat, this is my good friend, Dr. Vincent Keller," she heard Simon say, though it took a moment to register.

"Please, call me Vincent," he said, as he reached out for her hand

Cat extended her hand on autopilot, dazed by her proximity to his overwhelming masculinity. "Catherine Chandler," was all she could manage to choke out as he kissed the back of her hand. "_Oh god… don't swoon, you're not in a Jane Austen novel….."_

"I'm so happy to meet you, Catherine," she heard him say. She locked her knees before they let go and left her an embarrassing puddle on the floor.

Tess subtly jostled Cat's elbow, "Pleased to meet you as well," the petite girl finally managed to gasp.

* * *

Simon made his way over to the hostess station to let them know the whole party had arrived. Cat and Vincent simply stood, gazing into each other's eyes, her hand nestled in his. Tess watched the pair, amused at their complete fascination with each other to the exclusion of all else. She caught Simon's wave, indicating that the hostess was ready to seat them. Tess reached forward and snagged Cat's elbow again, separating their hands and managing to catch Vincent's attention as well.

"Hey, our table's ready." Tess motioned towards Simon and the hostess.

Vincent inclined his head, "After you, ladies."

Tess stepped forward to follow Simon. She wanted to be able to pick her seat so she could watch the dinner show of awkwardly smitten and somewhat speechless couple.

Cat smiled shyly at Vincent as she turned to follow Tess. Vincent stepped closely behind, and unconsciously reached his hand to the small of the beauty's back in a protective and possessive gesture. Cat shivered as she felt the warmth of Vincent's touch at the curve of her lower back, even through her coat. She was astonished how natural the contact felt, and had to fight the urge to settle back into it.

Meanwhile, Tess was pleased to see that Simon had taken her suggestion about the table. He had managed to convince the hostess to give them one of the coveted booths in the back of the restaurant. They were small, cozy, and provided a hint of privacy. He slung his coat on a hook at the side of the booth, then helped Tess off with her coat and placed it an adjacent hook.

Simon winked at Tess and suggested, "Why don't you slide in on the left side. I'll sit with you, and we'll be able to watch them together."

"I do like your devious mind," she commented as she settled into the booth.

"Years of practice. Web security is all about thinking deviously," he responded as he sat on her right. The two fit comfortably next to each other on the bench, as long as they weren't picky about arms, legs and hips brushing occasionally. Truthfully, they were both enjoying the proximity.

"Is that the only reason you're sneaky?"

"I also have siblings. How about you? How'd you get so wily?"

"Several older siblings, and I'm a detective. I spend all day trying to figure other people out."

"I admire your job skills," Simon countered, flirtatiously.

To her surprise, Tess felt a faint blush heat her cheeks. She was trying to think of a response when she was distracted by the other couple.

Vincent couldn't take his eyes off Catherine. His hand felt the loss of her warmth when she slipped away from his hand to shrug off her coat. He helped her out of it, then hung both his and her coats on the hooks on their side of the booth. It took him two tries because he couldn't stop staring at her as she slid onto the bench. He was mesmerized by her lithe body, especially the extra few inches of thigh exposed as she slid across. Once Catherine was comfortably settled towards the inside of the booth, he sat down next to her.

Cat felt a wrench at the loss of his touch, but shrugged off her coat and then slid towards the wall, anticipating the intimacy of a shared bench. There was little free space available, despite Cat's petite stature. Tess's long legs even encroached on Cat's leg room, so she tried tucking her feet under and left, which left her body slightly angled away from Vincent. That felt rude, so she shifted her feet to the right, which resulted in her knee resting against Vincent's thigh. His right arm and shoulder also encroached into the space her left shoulder was occupying, accentuating the enforced closeness, and forcing her body to lean away from him. When Vincent discovered this, he slid his right arm across the back of the booth cushion, freeing a bit of space for her. As the cushion backs weren't very high, thought the booth backs were, this essentially settled his arm around her shoulders. The action and resulting closeness felt both strangely natural and excitingly unnerving for both.

Cat and Vincent were completely absorbed in each other, and Simon and Tess were distracted by watching, as well as their own proximity. All this was disrupted when the waitress arrived. "Hi, I'm Penny, and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Would you like to start with something to drink?"

There was a flurry of menu opening and browsing as the four at the table quickly looked at the food and beverages. Cat and Tess ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir to share, while Simon and Vincent requested a local winter brew. The group also ordered two plates as appetizers to share among themselves.

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTES_ _7th February, 2013_

_Updated multiple chapters: 18-20_

_Most notes at end of chapter 20.  
_


	20. First Date Concludes

_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE **_

_**ADDED 3 CHAPTERS: 18-20 on **__**7th February, 2013 **_  


* * *

_**- Saturday, 24**__**th**__** November, 2012 -**_

The waitress left, stranding Cat and Vincent to their thoughts. They awkwardly looked away from each other as Simon and Tess watched, entertained. Simon finally got tired of waiting for them to talk, and asked Tess what she thought of the Rangers chances for the Stanley Cup this year. This began a heated discussion between the two sports fans about hockey, the strike, sports team owners and so on.

Vincent finally glanced at Catherine (after receiving an encouraging head motion from Simon). He could instantly tell that she was anxious but not cringing away from him; clearly this was nerves, not fear. Knowing she was also flustered soothed Vincent's nerves somewhat.

"So Catherine, what kinds of movies do you like to watch?"

Cat shyly turned to face the doctor, gazed up through her eyelashes and confessed, "I love action, sci fi or fantasy, and maybe a touch of romance thrown in. I rarely watch dramas, or even non comedic romances."

"So are you a fan of the recent spate of comic book adaptations?"

"For the most part. Comic books have well developed, entertaining characters. And though they tend to have more male characters, most also have strong females as well."

"Do you have a favorite character?"

"I kind of like Batman."

"Why?"

"He's not a perfect hero, he's a bit dark, and he's made himself the hero, no superpowers. Plus, super rich, handsome playboy, what's not to love?" Cat grinned suggestively as she finished her explanation. She realized who she was talking to, and blushed. "How about you? Who's your favorite?"

"When I was a kid, I loved the Hulk, but now I'm more of a Batman fan as well. I like all his toys."

Vincent and Catherine beamed at each other, in perfect harmony for a moment. Just as it started to dawn on them that they were staring, the waitress showed up with the drinks. "Here you are, wine for the ladies and beer for the gentlemen. Your first plates will be out shortly."

"So, anything else you like about Batman?" Cat asked.

"Well, I like that he lives in the city, but has found places of quiet. I'm actually a big fan of rooftops and fire escapes. They offer solitude and a different perspective on the city, where you can be part of it, but not have to interact with anyone for a time."

"Oh, that's funny," Cat laughed weakly. Vincent just raised an eyebrow at her, willing her to continue. "I've always loved fire escapes and rooftops as well. Ever since the first time I went up to our rooftop, I've found them comforting and freeing."

"The low tech, city version of the Fortress of Solitude."

"Exactly." They smiled at each other again, becoming more comfortable with the inexplicable connection between them.

Simon and Tess took a break from chatting about favorite TV shows to discuss what else they might like to eat. They paused in their own discussion for a moment to watch their friends, pleased to see the growing comfort level between the two.

During this conversational break the waitress arrived with their first two plates. "Here are the starters. Did you want to order a few more plates now, or shall I come back?"

Catherine and Vincent both looked a little sheepish, as they hadn't even thought about food. Tess raised an eyebrow at Cat, while Simon simply smirked at Vincent. Then Tess and Simon ordered four more plates, having already discussed what everyone would eat. The guys asked for another round beer as well.

Discussion slowed for a few moments while everyone started in on the appetizer round. Tess also refilled the wine glasses. Cat glared at Tess for a moment, but she just shrugged and poured. Continuing with the non-verbal communication that best friends often have, Tess leaned her head towards Vincent with an inquiring raise of her eyebrows. Cat blushed a bit, looked down, then gave a tiny affirmative nod. She then returned the lean and brow raise towards Simon. Tess surprised herself by responding much the same as Cat did. The guys missed this interaction; they were concentrating on eating; neither had consumed anything since lunch.

Tess decided it was time to engage Vincent in some conversation. "So Vincent, can you dance?"

Everyone else at the table was surprised at the question, but Simon was the first to respond. "That's a little random Tess."

"Not at all, the answer to this question tells a girl a lot about a guy."

"Really?" Simon sounded skeptical.

"Yes. I'll explain after you _**both**_ answer." Tess responded quickly.

"It's ok, I don't mind." Vincent held out a hand to stop Simon from diving into the heated discussion he could see was coming. Normally he'd sit back and enjoy the debate, but he didn't know how Tess would take the argument, and didn't want to risk Catherine leaving early. "I enjoy dancing. My mom had all of us take lessons as teens. The rest of the guys at school weren't impressed, until we had no trouble getting dates for the dances."

Both Catherine and Tess were impressed with the casually confident response. They both looked at Simon expectantly.

"Yeah, I took classes too. Wasn't as good at it as Mr. Suave here, but I can hold my own. So, what's that tell you?"

Tess' grin was just a hint wicked. "Well, Mr. Smarty-Pants, Vincent's answer tells me that he's confident and comfortable with himself, even the aspects that might not be so common. And that he probably has a very good sense of rhythm.

"Your answer tells me that you're also comfortable with yourself, but probably only have a reasonable sense of rhythm, and you're only truly confident about things you know you do well.

"Good answers from both of you."

"And what if we couldn't dance? Is there any good answer?" laughed Vincent.

Tess was about to answer, but was interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with the next course. "Here are your next plates. Gentlemen, here are your beers. Is there anything else I can get you?" At the negative responses, the waitress left.

There were another few moments of silence, and discussion about the food, and then Cat decided to respond to Vincent. "To answer your question, there's no bad answer as long as it shows you're comfortable regardless of your dancing experience or skills. It's more about the ease of your answer than the actual yes or no." She and Tess had used this question as a litmus test on dates before.

"Interesting social commentary," Simon mused, thinking about the question for the dating website and the possible implications on both dancing skills and confidence levels.

"So what about you ladies? Do you dance?" inquired Vincent, mischievously.

"I can hold my own," Cat responded.

"Ha! Don't let her fool you. She's taken lessons and won awards! I'm more comfortable in a downtown club, but can keep up with more classic styles thanks to my mother, who also made me take lessons," Tess interjected.

Vincent raised an eyebrow in challenge to Catherine.

"I won some awards in school, but that was years ago."

"Well, maybe we should see if you still have those skills," Vincent was both thrilled and horrified at the challenge that had sprung, without thought, from his mouth. Having started, might as well keep going, "What are you doing the Saturday before New Years?"

"Tess and I are attending the Annual Police Charity Ball," Cat responded without thinking.

"If you don't have a date, I'd be honored to go with you, if I can still buy a ticket." Vincent couldn't believe Catherine didn't have a date, but it sounded like she was going with Tess as friends.

"I… that would be lovely. It's black tie," Cat managed to choke out through her surprise that Vincent wasn't already busy, and was interested in attending a stuffy fund raiser with her.

"Luckily I have a tux; I bought one after the second hospital fundraiser I was forced to attend. Let's exchange numbers so we can make plans that week," Vincent pulled out his cell, unlocked it and held it out.

"Ok, sure," Catherine dug her phone out of her purse, unlocked it and exchanged phones with him.

Meanwhile, Simon and Tess were having a similar discussion. Simon also had a tux because of university fundraisers, and they agreed that he would attend as Tess' escort for the evening.

The waitress, seeing that they all seemed to be done with dinner, approached the table. "It looks like you enjoyed those plates. Can I get you anything else? Another round? Dessert or after dinner drink?"

"Oh, no, I actually…" Cat trailed off. She stopped short of her standard dating escape. She was overwhelmed, not bored or frustrated like on most dates, and she wasn't sure how to end the date without an excuse..

Tess came to her rescue, "We do have plans tomorrow morning, so we should probably call it a night soon."

"We'll just take the check, thanks," Simon responded to the waitress. Vincent nodded in agreement.

The waitress pulled out the check and left it at the table. Vincent immediately reached for the check, giving Simon a "back off" look. This was correctly interpreted as admission that Simon had won the bet, and Vincent would be paying for the whole table.

"Oh please, let us chip in," requested Catherine.

"No, I couldn't, my grandmother would never forgive me if I let a lady pay on a date. Besides, I lost a bet to Simon and owe him," Vincent assured.

"Glad to see you're conceding so easily," Simon couldn't help gloating a little.

"There's no shame in admitting I've learned something new," Vincent responded, determined to brazen it out, knowing that Simon wouldn't tell the girls what bet he'd lost, not yet anyway.

Tess and Cat smiled at each other. They recognized that the guys had a friendship similar to their own. They also had an unspoken acknowledgement that Cat now owed Tess. And there was an inkling in Tess' mind that maybe the boys had a similar subject for their bet. Cat was much too distracted by the man at her side to have any such thoughts.

The guys had stopped by the bank earlier, where both withdrew enough cash to cover diner; they agreed that would be the cost of the bet. Vincent left enough to cover the bill, plus a generous tip. He looked around the table, and inquired, "Ready?"

Upon receiving confirmation nods from the others, he slid out of the booth. Once out, he held out his hand to help Catherine up.

"Oh, thank you," Catherine sighed. It could be awkward to climb out of a booth in a snug skirt, and hers had already climbed up a bit. She'd noticed Vincent's appreciative glance again. He then held out her coat and slid it over her shoulders. As he brazenly pulled her hair from inside of the garment, he deliberately brushed his fingers against the back of the brunette's neck, causing a shiver to run down her spine. "Thank you," she managed, breathily, as she turned to look up at him.

"My pleasure," he rumbled huskily. The two simply stood and gazed into each other's eyes until they heard Tess and Simon both laugh softly.

"Shall we?" inquired Simon, gesturing towards the door.

"After you," motioned Vincent.

Catherine nodded her head as she turned to walk out the door. Again, Vincent put his hand at the small of her back; a gesture still much too familiar for the length of their acquaintance, but it felt right nonetheless.

"How'd you get here tonight?" inquired Simon.

"We took a cab," said Tess.

"I'll flag another down for you," Simon offered.

"Thank you, that would be great," Tess enthused. She wasn't keen on flagging down a cab in November in New York at night, especially in a dress.

"My pleasure," smiled Simon. He left Tess with Cat and Vincent at the door and headed outside.

"So, do you have any free time before the Ball?" inquired Vincent. He knew he was booked both weekends before with wedding events, but thought maybe they could squeeze in coffee, lunch or dinner on a week night.

"I'm so sorry, but no. Work is crazy this time of year, and my free time is booked solid until the Ball." Cat felt awful having to brush him off, but the wedding prep and holiday shopping left her with no free time to herself, beyond grocery shopping and basic household chores.

"I understand; it's a crazy time of year. I'm pretty booked myself," Vincent responded soothingly. He continued more eagerly, "I'll give you a call the week before the Ball, and we can nail down our plans."

"I look forward to it," Catherine beamed.

Vincent grinned back at her.

Just then Simon stuck his head in the door. "Cab's here." He held open the door for the others to walk through. "Catherine, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"Same here."

"Tess, I had a great time tonight. I'll call to make plans for the ball, but let me know if you're free before then," Simon was hoping Tess could squeeze him in despite the holidays.

"Simon, I had a great time as well. Maybe I can do dinner one night this week; I'll give you a call." Tess normally left guys hanging, wondering, until she decided what she wanted. However she'd already decided to give Simon a chance.

"Great."

"Vincent, it was a pleasure to meet you," Tess said her final goodbye.

"It was great to meet you as well," he responded.

Cat had been waiting quietly, and anxiously to tell Vincent goodnight. As Tess began to climb into the cab, the doctor turned back to Catherine and expressed warmly, "I can't tell you how glad I am Simon convinced me to meet you tonight."

"I feel exactly the same," Catherine smiled sweetly back. "I look forward to talking to you."

"Me too. I'll be in touch."

"Goodnight," said Cat, as she started to get into the cab.

Vincent watched until she was settled, then leaned down and said huskily, "Goodnight." For a moment Catherine and Tess thought he might kiss her, but he pulled away and shut the door. He tapped twice on the roof to let the cabbie know they were set. The guys stood and watched the cab drive away, both quite satisfied with the outcome of the evening. A minute later it dawned on them they were standing on a cold sidewalk in the middle of winter, watching a cab drive off. Simon turned and clapped a hand on Vincent's upper arm.

"Come on, let's get home, it's freezing out here." The two turned to walk back to Simon's apartment around the corner for a postmortem on the evening.

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTES 7th February, 2013_

_Updated multiple chapters: 18-20_

_Sorry the update wasn't sooner! I weighed posting snippets and partials vs a good solid update with the whole date, and one big update won. I took into account the feedback that the story was moving slowly after my last post, and I can see where you guys were coming from. Therefore, one big post in 3 parts: the rest of the set up snippets in 18, and the date broken (simply due to size) approximately in the middle for 19 & 20._

_Yes, lots of blushing. Embarrassed characters are entertaining. Yes, I have my wicked side and I'm enjoying indulging it. _

_As in previous chapters (though I don't believe I ever explained it) internal monologues are in quotes and italics.  
Conversation in italics inside of dashes is meant to indicate texting._

_Cat is wearing the lace dress from the gallery evening, episode 6: "Worth".  
Though I don't mention it, I imagine Tess wearing the red Helmut Lang from episode 11: "On Thin Ice"_

_Glad to see you guys are enjoying my story, and catching those inside jokes. I appreciate any and all feedback._


	21. Breakfast Grilling at the Diner

**_- Sunday, 25th November, 2012 -_**

Cat eased awake the next morning before her alarm. She rolled over to check the time with a satisfied, musing smile on her face. Pleased to see she was awake early, she switched off the alarm. As she rolled onto her back to stretch languorously, she moaned, vague feelings of delicious dreams and a strange sense of wellbeing and happily ever after suffusing her body. There wasn't even any dread at the thought of the morning after grilling she was in for at the diner.

She got up out of bed, took her shower and threw on jeans, a tee and sweater. Grabbing a jacket, she went to see if Heather had gotten up yet. Surprisingly, Heather was just emerging from her room, dressed and ready to go. Normally her younger sister had to be dragged out of bed on the weekends.

"You're up early," Cat teased.

"_Dying _to hear how last night went. You were so sneaky last night, going straight to bed." When Cat just chuckled and smiled, Heather continued, "And you're looking awfully satisfied this morning."

"Oh no, I am _not_ telling this more than once. You can wait until we get to the diner."

Heather pouted, but all Cat would do was smile and shake her head.

"Fine, but only because I know everyone else will be on time," Heather threw over her shoulder as she flounced out the door.

The two sisters walked down to the subway, chatting about the upcoming wedding as they traveled to the diner. Neither was surprised to see Tess, Lynn and Susie already waiting at a table when they got there. After the normal greetings, menu discussion and ordering, the girls got serious with the interrogation.

"So, how'd it go?" Lynn asked eagerly. As a soon to be married woman, she was caught up in the fairly standard delusion that everyone would be happier as part of a couple. Plus, she'd stuck them together at the rehearsal dinner and wedding, so if it turned out Tess' read on the situation was wrong, she wanted to know sooner rather than later for damage control and seating chart updates.

Cat blushed, as she seemed to do whenever Vincent was mentioned. The dreamy smile and half closed eyes that accompanied the flush of color did not go unnoticed by anyone at the table.

Tess interjected, smugly, "I told you, she's smitten."

"Clearly, but we want details from her," countered Susie.

"It was… it was great," Cat finally managed to get out.

"Details, Cat, we want deets!" exclaimed Heather, who was impatient for more info, especially after being denied the night before and on the walk to the diner.

"There's really not that much to tell. He was a gentleman, helped me with my coat, polite to talk to, very nice."

Tess bit her tongue. She knew so much more had happened, but she figured she'd let the other girls quiz Cat before spilling her eyewitness perspective.

"Seriously? You must have more to tell us than that. Even just your impressions of him!" Susie pushed, more curious than ever.

Cat tilted her head to the side and remembered the night before. She was dying to share, and she knew they'd all talk to each other about this anyway. It wasn't like Tess wasn't there for the whole thing. In fact, she was curious to hear Tess's take, but knew she wouldn't until after spilling her guts. So, here goes…

"You guys know about my perfect guy that I'd seen a few times. Good looking, great body, looks charming and... somehow familiar…" she trailed off, thinking about the times she'd seen him before.

The other girls were spared the need to pretend ignorance as their breakfasts showed up and everyone dug in. After a minute of silence except for silverware on plates and the crunching of toast, Susie finally spoke up, "So, Mr. Perfect…?" she trailed off in a leading fashion.

"It was him," Cat stated simply, smiling contentedly. "He was wonderful, such a gentleman. He kissed my hand when we met. He even helped me in and out of the booth, and into the taxi, instead of just watching me slide around in a short skirt."

"Well, he did some watching too," interjected Tess, with a laugh.

The blush returned to Cat's face, along with a pleased little grin. "You girls were right about the dress. Legs are the right part to show off on a first date. Anyway, once I got over my nervousness, we had some great conversation about movies and comic books and super heroes. He likes rooftop and fire escapes too. And he dances! In fact, he asked about the Saturday before New Years, and he's going to be my escort for the Annual Police Charity Ball." She thought for a moment, raised an eyebrow at Tess and added, "And Tess' date, Simon, is going with her as well. We're making it another double date."

"That's awesome, you're seeing him again!" gushed Heather.

"Not very soon though," commented Lynn.

"With the holidays and everything going on for the next few weeks, I don't have much free time. I'd rather wait until we can actually spend some time together than rush into short dates that might end badly."

The other four at the table all bit their tongues. None of them were in a hurry to tell Cat she'd not only been set up on the date, but also at the wedding. If this turned out well, she might be grateful later, but for now she'd probably be on the war path, and avoid Vincent to boot.

The silence gave Cat time to consider how strange everyone's behavior was. "Wait, why are you all giving _me_ the third degree? This was Tess' date; I was there as a friend buffer," she queried, eyebrow raised.

The silence and sheepish looks that followed her inquiry stunned Cat. She inquired quietly, almost ominously, "What did you do?"

Tess and Heather were suddenly very interested in their breakfasts. Lisa and Susie sat and prepared to watch the crazy unfold, slowly eating their breakfasts.

"You're kidding me. This was some sort of set up?" Cat couldn't believe they'd done this to her. What else might they have done…

"Did you guys put him up to behaving like that?" she asked shrilly, desperate to believe they hadn't done anything, but her cop trained mind racing with all of the things they could have done.

"No, no Cat!" Tess quickly interjected, "All we did was set you up. We set him up too. Simon was in on it with us."

"Honest, Cat. We just set you up on a dating site. Simon did the same to Vincent, and he approached us for this date," Heather was quick on Tess' heels with an explanation.

"You did what?" exclaimed Cat, aghast.

"We already deactivated your account, promise. It was only up for a few hours," Heather defended.

"What made you think it was ok to register me on a dating site?"

"I just… didn't want you to be sitting alone at the singles table at weddings forever." Heather continued, apologetically, "I'm sorry, I got caught up in the excitement of the idea and didn't think about what you'd think of the whole thing."

"And you? You know better!" Cat pointed at her partner.

Tess calmly took a bite of pancake, chewed and took a swallow of coffee. "Calm down Cat. Between Heather and I we actually got a pretty good profile together for you. We would have told you the next day, but Simon contacted us and then we deactivated your profile. He essentially did the same thing with Vincent, as far as the set up. He and I also hit it off, so we thought we'd do a double date and see how it went."

"Aaaaaargh! I can't believe you two! How am I supposed to trust any of Vincent's reactions now?"

"You could always text or call him and get his take on things. Meet him for coffee. You could even surprise him at the hospital," Tess winked at her last suggestion.

"I suppose, though that makes me feel so…. _stalker-y_," relented Cat. She sat up straight and pointed her finger at her sister, "I want all of the sites, the logins and passwords in my email by end of the day."

"Of course! Do you want me to change the emails to your address?"

"Wow, you had _your_ email on them? That's some plot you had going." Cat thought about the offer to change the emails, and then thought about spam and mailing lists. "No, don't bother changing the email. I'll make a throwaway Gmail or something to use for the sites."

"That's really smart," interjected Lisa, forgetting she was trying to keep her head out of the line of fire.

"I hope neither of you had anything to do with this crazy?" Cat raised her eyebrow as she looked at Lisa and Susie.

Susie laughed, "Honestly, I'd have helped if they asked me, but I had no idea this was going on."

Lynn tried very hard not to look ashamed, but couldn't keep her face neutral when Cat began to glare as a moment passed without a comment from Lynn.

"I knew about it," she admitted, sounding ashamed. "But I didn't do anything. However, in the interest of honesty, he's friends with Robert from the hospital, so he'll be in the wedding party."

"He's one of the groomsman? You're kidding!"

"No, it's like you were meant to meet him. Even if Heather and Tess hadn't pulled this, you'd have met him."

The other girls watched, and exchanged smug glances as Cat sat back in the booth, stunned. She'd thought she was crazy, obsessing over a guy she'd never met, fantasizing about love at first sight, and reacting as she did when they met. She didn't like dating tall guys, they tended to loom, and were worse than most about treating her like she was made of spun glass. He was a whole head taller than her, but with him it didn't feel like intimidation or an assumption that she needed to be cared for like a small child. With Vincent there was respect, but also a manly aura of protection and care for a woman.

As a doctor, Vincent clearly had a scientific bent, and that'd had never been one of her strengths. But they both liked comic book movies and Batman, and rooftops and dancing…

His touch made her shiver, his voice… ah his voice, so sexy and gravelly. Then there was his body and his hands… oh dear, much more and she'd need a change of underwear. Quick, think of something else, something not sexy, like… his mind! He was smart, and funny, and liked the same things and didn't need things explained, and it sounded like he could keep up with her jokes from his responses to Simon and… sigh, going to need a change of underwear.

While Cat had been sitting there, obsessing in her own mind, the other four at the table gradually began chatting amongst themselves. "I assume we'll be together at the rehearsal dinner, as well as the wedding and reception?"

Lynn eyed Cat suspiciously at her calm tone, but admitted, "Yes, you two were paired to walk together anyway, so I thought I'd let you get to know each other. And since you're walking together, everyone will think that's why you're sitting together, since neither of you is dating someone else."

"Thank you for being honest with me. Now I won't be trying to figure out what your angle was, and can just enjoy the time with him, in the guise of being friendly with my fellow attendant.

"So, Tess, I wasn't so distracted last night that I didn't notice you hitting it off rather well with Simon. This date wasn't just for Vincent and me, was it?"

To her dismay, Tess could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I was just being a good friend."

"Ha, such stories!" protested Heather. "You were crushing on him when we met at O'Leary's to set up the date. Don't try to deny it."

"Ok fine, he's hot, smart, and gainfully employed. What's not to like?"

"If you hadn't hit it off so well with him, I'd say we need to have a talk about your standards," joked Cat.

"My standards are fine!" Tess laughed.

"They are a little brief. What about being nice, or having a sense of humor, or loyalty? Simon actually seems like a good guy, but if those 3 things are the only ones you look for, it's no wonder you never date guys for long."

"Says you. What's your track record like until now?"

"That's why I was taking a break, until someone begged me to be her 'wing woman' for a night," taunted Cat.

"Ladies, let's stick to the important stuff!" Heather interjected impatiently. "Tess, how'd it go?"

"It was nice. We had dinner, and a show."

"Show, what show?"

"Watching you and Vincent watch each other and be embarrassed."

Cat had no good comeback, so she just scowled and stuck out her tongue at Tess. From there the conversation devolved into some good natured mud-slinging about the various girls' bad dating habits, including the bride-to-be pre-fiancé. They eventually paid the bill and headed off to enjoy the rest of their Sunday.

* * *

_Updated Author's Notes 5th May, 2013_

_Small edits, mostly verbiage. Changed mention of Vincent as "third" groomsman to "one of the" groomsman._

_Author's Notes 9th March, 2013_

_So sorry for the delay in posting. Thank you to everyone who commented or checked in with me. I finally thought to update my profile, so I hope that helped if anyone was worried. Work has been super busy crazy, and it's still crazy but at a slower pace. One of the problems with this is that I had to get back into the character's heads, which took longer than I would have liked. They keep skipping weeks, and the story is in a completely different place than when I first started writing. But, I think I've got them again._

_I'm a chapter ahead now, and I think I'm going to keep that buffer in place, for sanity if nothing else. Breakfast with Vincent and the guys at the diner is coming shortly._

_ShutterbugMom, in answer to your question, yes, I've noticed Tess tends to dress sexier, while Cat is more… restrained. I blame a few things:_

_Tess is tall, with a model type body: easy to dress sexy. She is also a more in-your-face sort of person. I think the "Man-Eater" nickname from episode 8 feels pretty accurate for her character._

_Cat is petite, which makes it a bit more difficult. When you're short, sexy can quickly become slutty, or make you look less than slender. Trust me, I'm only 5'1" and it's amazing the difference just one inch makes in skirt length when you're that short. She also strikes me as having tomboy tendencies. She isn't as comfortable with men in more social situations, and I think I'd be surprised if she dressed sexier. She uses her clothes as armor to fend them off, while still dressing appropriately. Hence all the leather jackets and boots. Which I love, but still, armor._


	22. Urban Legends at Breakfast

_**- Sunday, 25**__**th**__** November, 2012 -**_

Vincent woke with a smile on his face and memories of a certain petite, lithe brunette slinking her way through his dreams. He stretched, then settled back down with his hands behind his head to reminisce about his sultry dreams. Sadly, his fantasizing was interrupted by the alarm clock. '_Ah well, gotta get dressed and go to the diner to face 20-questions from the guys. Should just have had Simon record the whole thing. Course, the girls would probably have killed us for that, unless maybe we offered to share with their friends? Wonder if Catherine is going to be having the same sort of conversation with her friends this week?_' By the time JT came to bang on his door, he was up and dressed.

"Dude, up and at 'em. Sara is going to want to know how it went, and I'm not going to try to fend her off. You need to come to breakfast with me."

"Chill, I'm ready to go," countered Vincent as he opened the door. "Who's coming this morning anyway?"

"You, me, Sara, Simon and Robert."

"Not Rob's fiancée?"

"Nah, she's got brunch with her friends. They do Sunday brunch too, but at some other diner."

"Well, I'm glad to know my dating life is not such big news that she's coming with him today."

"I'm sure she'll want all the news from him," JT responded, though what he was really thinking was, _'If only you knew._' He manfully swallowed down the urge to mock Vincent and give up the game, and settled for getting them both out the door quickly, "Come on, grab a jacket and let's go."

"Sheesh, coming already."

The two friends ambled down the street to the diner. They bumped into Rob the block before the diner. Sara and Simon were already at a table in the diner, and had even gotten a full carafe and coffee cups for everyone. When they were ready to order, Vincent flagged down the waitress. After some discussion about the past week, Sara checked in with Rob about the wedding.

"It's going fine, thanks! Can't wait till it's over at this point."

"I hope you haven't said that to Lynn!" Sara laughed.

"You kidding, she said it to me!"

"And that's why you're marrying her. She's crazy in a way that works for you," Vincent snickered.

"True, true. So, how about your date? What flavor of crazy is she?" inquired Rob, slyly.

"I don't know, we just met."

"But it's not the first time you'd seen her," prodded Simon.

"No… and how did you guys set this all up?" asked Vincent suspiciously.

"Ok, so you know how you were on the _Match_ site, but not active?"

"Yeaaah..."

"Well, remember I made your account invisible. Purely for curiosity's sake I left it as available to be matched. Turns out, Cat's sister and friend added her to the site without telling her. The two of you were incredibly well matched, so the system sent me a notification. I tracked down Tess and Heather, and we thought we'd see how you two hit it off without the pressure of the matching system."

"And it gave you an excuse to ask out Tess," interjected JT.

"Wait, _how _well matched are we?"

"You won't believe me…"

"Try me."

"It actually notified me because it has you two as a Perfect Match."

"That Urban Legend status you said was theoretical?"

"I saw it too," confirmed JT. "And then we figured out that Cat was the perfect girl who'd been haunting you, and we knew we needed to introduce the two of you. She's the sister of one of my students, and I'd actually just met her the first day you saw her, but didn't realize she was the one who caught your eye in the car."

"You knew who she was?" at this realization, the anger radiating off of Vincent was palpable.

"Hold up," soothed Sara. "JT figured out who Cat was while you were still with Alex. He and I talked, and we figured that you'd either bump into her again anyway, or if you were single for a bit we'd find some way to introduce you. No one saw any reason to get your hopes up or complicate matters until you were single and we knew if you'd actually hit it off well. And they're leveling with you now."

Vincent sat back, somewhat mollified, but still frustrated.

"In the interest of full disclosure," Rob started, just to pause at Vincent's glare, "hear me out, this wasn't pre-planned. In fact, this goes to Sara's point about you two meeting anyway."

"You're going to tell me she's going to be at the wedding?" Vincent joked, somewhat bitterly.

"Actually, she's one of the bridesmaids. She's Lynn's cousin, and you're walking with her." Robert dropped the bomb and waited for the fallout.

Vincent was struck speechless. There was no way they could fake Catherine being Lynn's cousin and in the wedding. Maybe it was fate. "That's crazy. How'd you guys figure that out?"

"It came up while we were setting up the double date," explained Simon.

"And then it worked out for seating at the reception, so you're sitting with Cat now, at a different table," added Rob. "And Lynn will be thrilled. Not only did the two of you connect, but she won't have to play with the seating any more. That's been a nightmare."

"Anytime I can help buddy," joked Vincent.

"So wait, it did go well?" asked Sara.

"It was… great," Vincent trailed off, eyes glazing as he thought about how wonderful it was to be in her presence. Sexy and feminine and smart and sweet but not a push over and … perfect.

"Dude, we're still here. You can enjoy your rich fantasy life at home in private," snarked JT.

Sara smacked JT's arm lightly, "Stop it, you'll embarrass him and he'll stop talking about what happened."

"He's not talking anyway, we might as well embarrass him," responded Simon.

"Oh, says the guy who used me as an excuse to get a date. Don't think I didn't notice the chemistry with you and Tess," prodded Vincent.

"What can I say? She's tall, hot, smart, self assured and clearly a good friend, sounds pretty perfect to me. You don't have exclusive rights to finding your perfect girl you know," Simon retorted.

"Hey, I'm happy for you. Plus, double dating friends is a great way to ease into things. We'll both have a wingman present in case we need backup or if conversation lags."

"If things continue the way they were last night, neither will be an issue. But I'm happy to double. It's nice to have another couple to hang with, and will make it easier if we end up integrating groups of friends."

The joking continued for a bit. Finally they caught the attention of the waitress and paid the check. The friends split up at the door to enjoy their Sunday.

* * *

_Author's Notes 13th March, 2031_

_Thank you for all of the lovely reviews! Glad to know you're all enjoying it!_


	23. Practice Makes Perfect

_**- Saturday, 1**__**st**__** December, 2012 -**_

It had been a long week, full of holiday and wedding prep, as well as work and ordinary responsibilities like grocery shopping. It was finally Saturday morning and Cat was both anticipating and dreading seeing Vincent at the rehearsal dinner. As they'd expected, both had been far too busy during the week to do more than text occasionally. As they didn't actually _know_ each other that well yet, even texts had been rare, most simply a carefully worded check-in. What if her memories didn't live up to real life? What if _his_ didn't? She stopped, took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders back and started to get ready. There was nothing she could do about anyone's memory at this point, best to just get the show on the road.

The bridal party was dressing up for the rehearsal and dinner. The bride wanted an excuse to dress up during the ceremony walk and following dinner at the groom's parents' house. Later the bridal party and guests were going dancing; everyone was going to gather to change before a night on the town. Cat had consulted with the girls and decided on dark grey wool pencil skirt and a cranberry colored cashmere twin set for the rehearsal. Later she was going to change for an evening of dancing. She'd picked out a dark green halter dress with a shirred waist and full skirt along with black t-strap heels, sexy and comfortable for dancing.

Cat, Heather, Susie and Lynn arrived at the church in Greenwich, CT just before 2:00 pm. They walked into the sanctuary, chatting quietly, and seated themselves on the left towards the front. Cat glanced over to the right side to see Vincent looking back. He winked and she blushed and waved briefly in return. She was spared having to figure out what to do next, or how to respond to the inevitable teasing from the girls, by the arrival of the priest and wedding planner.

The wedding planner confirmed she knew who everyone was, then talked everyone through the ceremony. Next was an actual run through of all of the actions, so she had the girls go to the back of the church, and set the guys up at the altar. She queued up music on her iPhone and prompted the parents of the groom to walk in, followed by the mother of the bride. The music changed to the standard processional of "Pachelbel's Canon" and Heather to begin walking down the aisle.

Cat was second down the aisle. When she first started walking she was distracted by the sight of Vincent, standing in his suit at the front of the church looking so handsome and strong and sexy, with his dark hair combed back and that grin... The wedding planner only had to hiss her name once for Cat to realize that was a recipe for failure. Instead she concentrated very hard on smiling and _not_ looking at Vincent as she walked. When she got to the front of the church she turned and waited, but snuck a quick glance at Vincent under her lashes.

For his part, Vincent was glad he didn't have to do anything but stand there and look happy. It was refreshing to be able to simply watch Catherine, and not feel like a stalker. You were _supposed_ to watch the bridesmaids as they walked towards you down the aisle. Now, he just had to remember to watch the aisle, especially the bride, and not just stare at Catherine as she stood waiting near the altar. She was a delight to watch, so gorgeous and elegant and graceful and sexy, especially when she blushed and ducked her head… "_Maid of honor! Time to watch the maid of honor! Pay attention, Vincent!"_

Finally, Lynn's father escorted her down the aisle and placed her hand in Robert's, then took a seat with his wife. The priest took over and began explaining what he'd be reading, and directing the walk through of the ceremony. Meanwhile, the Cat and Vincent kept sneaking glances at each other. They were distracted, but trying to pay attention to the priest so they would not embarrass themselves at any point.

Nonetheless, Cat found herself staring at Vincent, with his dark grey suit, stark white shirt and silver tie. She'd just read a book about a guy with a textured silver tie… and the things he did with that tie… did Vincent know the message that tie sent? Or was it just a pre-selected suit/shirt/tie combination and sold as a set, a metro sort of monochromatic look… did he wear that tie to evoke certain thoughts? How adventurous was he? What did he like? Cat surreptitiously fanned herself with her cardigan. She was becoming rather warm just thinking Vincent and his silver tie, even though the church was a bit chilly. The bride and groom stepped forward to walk through the candle lighting ceremony, and Cat was brought back to reality from her musings. _"I can't believe I was wondering those things in a church! So inappropriate! Better stop before I'm struck by lightning or something."_

Vincent was unsurprised to find himself watching Catherine during the ceremony walk through. She initially seemed to be paying attention to the directions, but he caught her sneaking glances at him. Finally she glanced in his direction but didn't look back. A far off look came over her face, contemplative and sultry. A flush was creeping across her cheeks and up from the modest bit of cleavage he could see. He wondered why she was blushing, and how far that rosy color might travel if she was in the right mood. The movement for the candle lighting ceremony also broke his concentration, and he wrenched his attention back to the planner and priest for the next steps.

The priest finished his part of the walk through, and the planner took over again. She started the recessional music on her iPhone, then gestured for the groom to escort the bride down the aisle. Susie, the maid of honor, followed with the best man. Vincent stepped forward and cocked his arm for Catherine. She settled her hand on his arm with a shy smile, and the two walked down the aisle. Vincent took care to match his strides to Catherine's, especially as she was wearing fairly tall heels. He appreciated the rather spectacular view of Catherine in skinny heels, and would cheerfully crawl if that was the only speed she could keep up with in the skyscrapers. Fortunately for him, Cat had plenty of practice in heels, so he only needed to slow his natural pace a bit.

Cat noticed the care Vincent was taking to match her pace, and was grateful, especially as he was so tall. She could run in heels if she had to, as could many female cops. She was even comfortable at a brisk walk in heels, but she'd much rather stroll at a casual pace.

The two simply enjoyed each other's presence as they completed their stroll to the vestibule. After they walked through the doors, they stepped to the right and turned to watch the final couple. When everyone had completed the journey, the planner stopped the music. She praised them all on a very successful walk through, and suggested they go enjoy dinner as a second run was unnecessary. The father of the bride and Darius (the third groomsman) went to get the cars for the drive back to the city. Susie convinced her husband, John, to go get their car, even though the girls had originally driven it. The guys had all driven up to Connecticut with John, while the parents had carpooled as well.

As they were waiting, Heather pulled Lynn and Susie aside. "Hey, do you two want to ride back to the city with your men?"

"Actually, that would be great, but we didn't want to make you or Cat feel awkward," responded Lynn.

"I'm sure Cat won't care," bubbled Heather. "I don't mind, it will give me a chance to flirt with Darius! Where'd Rob find him?"

"He's a nurse in the ER with Rob and Vincent," noted Susie. "I'm sure he won't mind the company either," she continued suggestively and winked.

Cat had been talking to her aunt, but excused herself and walked over to the girls when she saw them talking quietly. "What are you three plotting over here?" she inquired skeptically.

"Oh Cat, perfect timing. Do you mind if we ride back to the Cameron's with Darius? It will give me a chance to talk to him before the wedding without too many people."

"And I don't know how much time Rob and I are going to have over the next week, so I'll take an hour in the car with him. If you don't mind, that is," interjected Lynn.

"No, of course not. I assume John and Rob are going with you two then?" she waved her right index finger between Lynn and Susie.

"Yes, that's the plan. Thank you," gushed Lynn, as she hugged Cat.

"Really, it's fine," Cat grinned. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of Heather and her crush anyway."

Heather sidled up to her sister, "Dearest, bestest sister," she began, in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Yes?" Cat interrupted, suspiciously.

"Do you mind if I sit up front with Darius?" she gushed. "He's awfully cute and I want to be able to talk to him. You know it's almost impossible to talk to someone between the front and the back seat of a car on the highway, especially if you want to get to know someone better. And then you can sit in the back with Vincent!"

Cat was stunned to realize she was going to be sitting beside Vincent in the back seat of a car for an hour. She'd been so busy acting normal and trying not to pay undue attention to Vincent that she'd completely missed the fact that he was the fourth person in car. "Uh.. no, that's fine," she rushed to assure Heather, hoping her nosy little sister wouldn't notice how distracted she'd been all day.

Heather noticed, but decided to save the sisterly mocking Cat was racking up for later. She wanted to tease her sister, not embarrass her in front of the one guy she was finally, really showing interest in.

Vincent was chatting with Robert's father as they waited for the cars. He was also trying not to stare at Catherine, so he'd actually caught Heather staring lustfully after Darius as he walked out to get the car. He guessed that there might be some substitutions in the seating arrangements for the ride home, and assumed he'd be letting Heather ride up front with Darius. However he, unlike Catherine, followed the thought through and came to the very pleasant conclusion that he'd be riding home in the back of Darius' car with the beauty he was so interested in. And though Darius was going to get the car, it wouldn't be warm yet. It would _only_ be gentlemanly of him to offer to keep Catherine warm until the heat was fully going. He also decided that he'd use his height as an excuse for him to sit behind Heather, which also meant that she couldn't just half turn in the seat to see him, and would keep her from being able to spy on them so easily, were she so inclined amidst her flirtation. This could be a very enjoyable ride back to the city. With that in mind, he excused himself to check if they cars were out front yet.

* * *

_- Author's Notes: 20th March, 2013 -_

_Sorry for the somewhat cliff-y ending, especially without an actually wedding. The drive back is coming soon!  
_

_Thank you for the __reviews,_ follows and favorites. :)


	24. The Long (Cold) Drive

_**- Saturday, 1**__**st**__** December, 2012 -**_

Vincent cracked open the vestibule door with perfect timing, "They're here!" There was a flurry of coats and scarves before Vincent held the door for everyone to exit. He followed Catherine and Heather to Darius' car, where Heather promptly settled herself in the front seat. Darius looked a little surprised, and glanced at Vincent. The doctor simply shook his head and waved dismissively. He helped Catherine into the back seat, and asked Heather to move her seat forward. As Heather complied Cat slid behind the driver's seat; she knew she didn't need the extra leg room Vincent had requested. She shivered as she slid across the cold leather, huddling into herself. Vincent hid a smirk at the telltale motion; he wouldn't wish her discomfort for the world, but he wouldn't deny he was looking forward to holding her close to warm her. He settled himself in the seat, with his long legs folded into the still limited space of the back.

Darius got back into the car and checked the engine heat. "Sorry for the cold. It will be warm in a few minutes."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," assured Heather. She used the comment as a reason to ask Darius about his car, and he was happy to seize the conversational starter and chat with her.

Cat let out a soft scoffing noise as she tried to settle into the back seat, still very cold. Vincent noticed and leaned toward her a bit.

"Your sister is distracted, so she's not feeling the cold at the moment. And the front seat will warm up much faster than back here," he said quietly, for Catherine's ears alone. "I'm comfortable, so if you'd like to slide over here, I'm happy to share my warmth." At her wary look, he continued, "I promise to behave. Besides, we're not really alone, and some things are better in private."

Cat thought about it for a moment, eyeing him speculatively. She was on the fence until a new burst of shivers started at her icy toes. She released her seat belt and slid towards the handsome man as she warned, "I'm going to hold you to your promise. I can always get warm later."

"There won't be any need for that," he assured her. He unbuttoned his outer jacket and held it open as she slid towards him. She placed her purse to her left, and gratefully ducked under his arm to slide close. Vincent wrapped her in his arms and jacket, and settled back into the seat at an angle as he extended his legs diagonally across the floor.

Cat hadn't considered how close they'd be; just that she wouldn't feel frozen. She could feel the warmth emanating from Vincent before she reached him. Caught up in the sensation, she slid her hands across his chest to snuggle within his embrace: her hands and head on his chest, and her legs across his as he stretched them out. She was a bit astonished to find herself essentially lying atop Vincent in the back seat of the car, but he was so warm, and she was so chilled she just couldn't bring herself to move, despite the thought that Heather could turn at any moment and see her in this compromising position.

"It's so unfair, guys tend to be warmer anyway, and then you guys have warmer clothes," Catherine complained quietly; she didn't want to give Heather any excuse to turn around.

"I wouldn't look anywhere near as good in that skirt," Vincent laughed, but matched her soft volume.

"I'd have to see your legs before I could make any sort of judgment," she responded, unthinking. At Vincent's chuckle in response she hid her face into his chest.

"That could be arranged," he taunted, charmed at her embarrassment.

"You know that's not what I meant," she poked his chest for emphasis.

"Wasn't it?" he countered mischievously, catching her hand with his. "None of that now; there isn't enough privacy back here for us to play."

It was a rarity, but the detective was at a loss for words. She wanted to flirt, but didn't want to be too forward given their current situation. She didn't want to ruin things by rushing.

Vincent was surprised at her silence, until he thought about their position and where the discussion had been heading. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, then tucked it back under his jacket. "Don't worry; I'm glad that you're comfortable enough to let me warm you, but I'm not taking this as anything more than sharing body heat with a friend. Though I do look forward the day we won't need the cold as an excuse."

Catherine was pleased, impressed and touched by his attention and caring. "Thank you for being a gentleman. I'm never this cozy in the car in winter."

"Don't like winter then?"

"Honestly, I like all the seasons. Though I am glad I live somewhere they change. Just as I really get tired of one, it's on to the next season."

"I agree. But what's your absolute favorite time of year?"

"I guess late summer. It's warm enough to go up to the roof, but not unbearably hot. And it doesn't rain as often, but it's a relief when it does. What's yours?"

"The same actually. It's great for the roof, and for running, if you go early enough."

"I love running in the morning. It gets me going for the rest of the day."

"Where do you run?"

"Any of the parks, depending on my mood. The Greenway or Central Park if I can."

"I don't know how we never ran into each other before."

"Ha, punny," Cat snickered.

"What? Oh," Vincent laughed once he caught his unintended pun. "I like running with a buddy, but I know some people prefer running solo. How about you?"

"I'm ok either way. A running buddy is nice, but not if they talk too much. I run to run, not to chat."

"I know. I haven't been able to find anyone to run with who can keep quiet for more than 2 minutes at a shot. Feel free to give me a call the next morning you're planning to go. If I'm not on duty, I'll gladly go with you."

"That sounds nice. I'll keep it in mind."

"I'm looking forward to it."

The two settled into a comfortable quiet for a few minutes.

Cat resettled and her hand brushed over Vincent's grey tie. She grasped it gently, thumb rubbing over the texture. Lulled into a state of relaxation, she thoughtlessly let slip her earlier, risque, musing, "This is a nice tie. Is it a statement?"

Vincent was surprised at the question, especially the sultry, suggestive undertones to the question. "I'm glad you like it. I bought it with the suit a few years ago," he stated warily.

"Ooooh. Never mind," Catherine sounded disappointed, then relieved at the response as she realized what she'd implied.

The man wearing the grey tie thought for a moment, and realized what she was referring to. "I don't feel the need to make public statements of that sort," he stated calmly. "But I'd be happy to discuss it with you later in private," he continued suggestively.

"No, no, I'm fine," she started to sputter, then had a moment of inspiration, "ask me again when we know each other better."

Vincent chuckled softly in response, "I may hold you to that."

Catherine blushed and hid her face in his chest again. Lacking something else brilliant to say, she decided to keep quiet and enjoy the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Heather and Darius had been chatting in the front seat. Darius had seen Cat snuggle up to Vincent in the rear view mirror, but didn't say anything as he didn't want to distract Heather. She, on the other hand, was just realizing that she hadn't heard anything from the back seat since they got in. "Hey, you two are awfully quiet back there, you ok…" she trailed off as she turned in her seat to see Catherine snuggled on top of Vincent, who was stretched across the back of the car. "Never mind me, please continue," Heather suggested before she turned around and hissed at Darius, "Turn the heat down."

"I never turned it up," he whispered back, then winked.

"I like a man who can plot," Heather responded.

"I have an older brother who's a cop. Plotting is a requirement for anything to get done around him."

"Really, where? Maybe Cat knows him."

"Joe Bishop, he's a captain in charge of a NYC precinct."

"That's crazy, I think he's Cat's boss!"

"Huh, small world."

"You have _no_ idea."

"You mean the two of them?" Darius motioned towards the back seat with his head, "Robert clued me in, so I'd know what was going on. Serendipity is a wonderful thing."

"I know! It's so romantic!"

"A girl who likes romance. Good to know."

"Every girl likes romance."

"You've all seen too many romantic comedies."

"At least you guys know what we expect now."

"I'm not sure holding up an iPod outside someone's window has the same effect as an 80's boom box."

"True, but it's the thought that counts."

The couple in the front seat continued their banter.

* * *

In the back seat, Cat was fighting embarrassment at her sister's blatant encouragement of their situation. And Darius! "_No Cat, murder is still illegal, even if you're a cop and it's justified. And maybe they won't tell anyone else. HA! Maybe Lynn and Robert will have flying pigs at the wedding too! I'm frozen, should be able to enjoy it guilt free. It does feel so right to be in his arms."_ She sighed contentedly.

Vincent knew he was going to hear about this later, and that Darius would claim a favor. "_I'll deal with the ribbing. I might even concede a small favor. This feels so right with her." _

"Don't let her know she gets to you. It won't stop all the comments, but they won't run with it so much."

"I've tried, but my sister is persistent, especially when she gets together with the rest of the gang."

"Does it really bother you?"

Cat thought for a minute, "Well, normally it would. I think… I think this time it worries me because I don't want them to screw it up." She glanced up at Vincent shyly to see his response.

"Hey, we won't let them. Apparently we share some friends, so I think we can guess how they will react. Let's agree to not let anything that they say or do affect what happens with us."

"_Us?_ Uh sure, that makes sense actually."

"Why the question?"

She looked down, "I didn't realize we were an 'us' already."

"I hadn't really thought about it, but it feels right to me. How about you?"

"That's it, I hadn't thought about it, but it feels right to me too."

"Good, I'm glad." Vincent settled his arms about Catherine more securely. She nestled in and they rode the rest of the way to the Cameron's in comfortable silence.

* * *

_Author's Note 9th April, 2013_

_Sorry for the delay guys. I was on vacation (Vegas baby!). I had internet access, but took advantage of the chance to be lazy and not do anything I didn't have to. Horay for pools, hot tubs, Bettie Page stores, and fabulous food!  
However, the break did help me with some much needed recharging for everything, including writing, so I'm hoping that my muse and schedule will allow for more frequent updates. I'm eager to see what my characters get themselves into next too!_

_So, another chapter written, another chapter posted. More Vincat moments coming up!_

_Thanks for the encouragement and feedback. It's always welcome._


	25. Dancing in the Dark

_**- Saturday, 1**__**st**__** December, 2012 -**_

The dinner portion of the evening was an entertaining affair as the parents of the bride and groom were on very friendly terms. Mix in a bridal party full of friends, and the result was a pleasurable gathering, sans the drama one might expect.

Dinner wound down, and the parents settled in for an evening of bridge. The bride and groom had decided to forgo individual stag parties, and the potential accompanying guilt, accusations and arguments. They had opted to enjoy an evening out dancing and relaxing with friends instead. With that in mind, the bridal party was headed into the city to meet up with more friends to celebrate the upcoming wedding, rather than mourn the impending loss of single-dom.

In order to limit the number of people who needed to remain in a fit state to drive, they agreed to park all of the cars at a couple of spacious houses and apartments and carpool; couches, futons, and air mattresses had been pledged so no one would have to drive too far out of the way. The plan was to meet at a club in the city with a variety of music options, so they could split up or just move between rooms and music styles rather than bar hopping. The Best Man and Matron of Honor (Susie and John) had arranged for a table and bottle service, so they would have somewhere to stash coats and purses, as well as relax with a beverage.

The bridal party arrived at the club in small groups around 10pm. They were able to skip the line as bottle service also got them on the VIP list. Everyone arrived and shed winter layers, followed by a couple rounds of funny and racy toasts. Eventually some headed to the dance floors in pairs or groups, while others opted to sit and chat.

Cat remembered the conversation from their date about dancing, but didn't want to assume anything regarding Vincent's plans for the rest of the evening. She saw Tess and Simon across the table, and managed to catch Tess' attention, motioning with her head and lifted eyebrows towards the dance floor. Tess turned to let Simon know she was going out on the floor to dance. Cat started to walk around the outside of the group when her wrist was caught in a careful but firm grip, which spun her back into a set of strong arms. Even with her back to him, one arm caught across the front of her body, she could somehow tell it was Vincent who'd snagged her. She was surprised by this knowledge, there were other guys in the group who could have grabbed her in this manner, but none felt like _he_ did; she was never this comfortable in a man's embrace.

"You weren't going to go dancing with Tess and leave me here at the table, were you?" Vincent rasped into Catherine's ear. She shivered and fought the urge to tilt her head to give him better access to her sensitive neck. Instead she turned her head towards him, which was just as dangerous to her sanity: her lips ended up mere inches from the doctor's. They both held this pose for a moment, until Catherine blushed and ducked her head. She twisted her arms gently – she knew he could hold her if he wanted to, she wasn't trying to break free, just let him know she wanted to move. Vincent let go of the petite detective's wrist, but kept his arms loosely about her. Catherine turned within the circle, braced her hands against his chest and looked up. She raised up on her tip toes to try to get her mouth closer to his ear so she didn't have to yell, but even with 4 inch heels he was too tall for that. She slid her left hand up his chest and to the back of his neck to gently pull him down.

As his head dipped, her fingers slipped up into his hair; she began to play with it as she tipped her head back to bring her mouth closer to his left ear to taunt, "There's got to be 8 people still at the table, you wouldn't have been alone."

Vincent slid his right hand up to cup the back of Catherine's head and support her neck as she reached up to be sure he could hear her. His left arm slid around her waist and pulled her closer. His mouth was now even with left ear as well, so he was easily able to respond, "I can talk to them at work, and I _don't _want to dance with any of _them_. Besides, I hear there's a Latin room, and I've been looking forward to see how well we move together. You up for it?" he challenged.

"Feels like you are," she breathed, caught up in the feel of his body pressed against hers.

"Feisty this evening! Let's put that fire to good work," he began to straighten as he relaxed his embrace, skimming his hands down her arms to her hands in preparation to go in search of Latin music.

Catherine blushed so brightly that Vincent could see it even in the dim club lighting. "You weren't supposed to hear that!" She tried to pull her hands back to herself and step away, but was thwarted by the gentle strength in the hands that wouldn't let her go.

Vincent pulled her hands back to each side of him and leaned back in to assure, "I like you this way. I've been looking forward to this for a week. Please dance with me?"

She bit her lower lip and peeked up at him through her eyelashes, then gave a shy smile and nodded her agreement. Vincent turned her around and placed his palm at the small of her back. "You lead; I don't want to lose you in the crowd. You look much too good tonight to be wandering around alone."

Cat nodded and began to work her way towards the door. She was so flustered that she forgot all about Tess.

The tall detective wasn't alarmed when her partner turned and walked towards the next room. She and Simon had watched the whole interplay with great amusement. "You game to dance?" she asked Simon easily. With her heels, she was little more than an inch shorter than Simon, and she was looking forward to dancing with someone tall enough to be comfortable.

"I'll dance, but don't want to have to work at the Latin tonight. There's R&B here, or 80's downstairs…"

"Oh 80s is always fun!" Tess grabbed Simon's hand and took off for the stairs.

* * *

Catherine led Vincent to a slightly open spot near the edge of the dance floor in the Latin room. "Time to see if those lessons paid off," she teased.

"For you? Or me?" he asked, as he took her right hand in his left, and placed his right hand on her rib cage.

"Both," she replied as they began to move to the live band. She was pleased that he actually knew the proper hand positions; now she had hopes of enjoying the dancing, aside from just being in his arms.

They salsa'd, rumba'd, mambo'd and meringue'd their way through several songs, finally ending up near the center of the floor. Both were pleasantly surprised at how natural it felt to dance together. Cat was especially pleased that she had no problems following; normally to give up control and follow a new partner she had to close her eyes, but with Vincent she was only closing them to better savor the experience. A tango started, and Vincent pulled Catherine flush against him in the Argentine style. As they continued through the dance, other couples began to simply sway in place to watch them. Catherine and Vincent swayed, dipped, spun and played with foot placement, all the time holding each other's gaze.

At the end, Vincent dipped Catherine, her head and arms flung back, then snapped her up against him as the song ended. The two simply stood lost in the moment, breathing heavily and gazing into each other's eyes. The crowd and band held their breath for that magical moment of silence that happens after you witness something spectacular before the applause finally starts. When applause did start, it startled them into awareness. Vincent had the presence of mind to step slightly away from Catherine, snagging her hand, and bow. She caught on and dipped a quick curtsey. They straightened and waved then tacitly agreed to walk off the floor.

Vincent ducked his head as they walked toward the bar, "I'll get us both water."

"Thank you," Catherine squeezed his hand, "I'm going to snag space on that bench before it's gone."

Vincent nodded, then stepped up to the bar. With his height, he was easily able to catch the bar tender's attention. He tried to pay for the water, but she waved him off, "It's on the house. It was a pleasure to watch the two of you."

"Thank you," Vincent saluted with one of the bottles. He worked his way over to Catherine, who was sitting in the corner of the bench that ran the length of the room. He considered the space as he approached. She'd either misgauged the size or others had sat down, because there was no way Vincent would fit next to her; his shoulders were simply too broad. The brunette realized this as he neared. Her dismay was clear to see on her face.

"I can stand for a bit," she started apologetically as he reached out both bottles of water.

"Just hold these for a moment," he requested. She reached out both hands and complied, a puzzled look on her face. Vincent gave her the bottles, then grasped her wrists, pulled her up and towards him, swung them both around quickly, sat, then tugged her to sit on his right knee, her legs tucked safely between his, and his right arm reaching around her back.

Catherine was glad she was seated. She was already dazed from their last dance, and his latest move had caused her to go weak at the knees. She finally managed to shut her mouth and hold out one of the bottles of water to him. Vincent took it and held it so he could reach to open it with both hands, which also pulled her closer into his chest. She simply relaxed her left side into his chest, leaning her head on his shoulder. Right now she couldn't remember why she'd been trying to keep any distance between them.

They sat for a few minutes, drinking their water. Vincent's right hand played up and down Catherine's back and side, his left rested on her legs with his water bottle. Catherine's left hand held her water while her right hand explored Vincent's chest and left arm. She was finally bold enough to sit up a bit and slide her hand up his neck and into his hair to get his attention. "We should probably check in with Lynn and Robert."

"You're right. Sitting with them and having a drink sounds good, I haven't done much dancing recently."

They joined the rest of the group, please to find that everyone was having a great time. It seemed no one saw their little 'display' in the Latin room – they were safe from harassment and mocking… for now. As the evening was winding down, everyone gathered back at the table to have a last drink. A short while later the lights flashed for last call; and the group decided to head out before the big rush. Coats, scarves and purses were untangled, rides were sorted out, and the group headed for the exit. Goodbyes were said outside the door before groups parted ways.

Vincent and Catherine were both sober enough to be drivers, so they said goodbye and promised to both text when they were safely home. They moved towards each other, intending a quiet goodbye, maybe even a hug, but were tugged in different directions by their eager passengers.

* * *

_Author's Note 22nd April, 2013_

_Sorry the updates are coming so slowly. Work's still busy, and I came back from Vegas with a nasty cold. NOT the souvenir I was hoping for... _

_Thanks for the follows and the posts requesting more! It will keep coming until they have a HEA. _

_Anyway, here's an update, with the hopes it makes someone's Monday better. :)_


	26. Keeping Warm

_**- Saturday, 1**__**st**__** December, 2012 -**_

Catherine finished dropping people off. Her sister had decided to spend the night with a friend, so she let them out together before heading home. It was nice to have the place to herself, if only for an evening. She parked, walked up the stairs and let herself into the apartment. As she hung her coat she kicked off her shoes before carrying them into her bedroom and putting them away. Next the brunette set her purse down on her dresser and began to empty it. As she pulled out her phone, she remembered she'd promised to text Vincent and let him know she was home safely; he was such a gentleman: worried as it was late and cold. He laughed when she asked for a text too, but had agreed with a grin.

- _Home safe. – _Catherine put her phone down as she figured it would be a bit before she got an answer. She started to undress, figuring she might as well get comfortable.

_ - Good to know .-_

That was an awfully fast response. He shouldn't be home yet, he had further to go. _- You better not be driving… -_

_ - Had a stop to make along the way. Car is parked. –_

_ - Good. Had a great time tonight. – _Cat continued undressing as she texted. She thought about showering, but decided to just slip into some layers and sit on the fire escape for a few minutes. It was a favorite place to sit and think without distractions, to clear her head.

_ - Me too. Tess was right, you definitely sold yourself short. -_

_ - ? –_ She pulled out clothes to layer: a tank top and leggings as well as a pair of fleece pants, wool socks, and a comfy pair of Ugg knockoffs. Then she padded into the bathroom to clean her face; she hated sleeping with makeup on.

_- You're a wonderful dancer. Next time you're in the mood to move, just let me know. –_

_- Thanks, you're pretty good yourself, same goes. – _Face clean and moisturized, she pulled on a long sleeved tee and a fleece lined hoodie. She couldn't stay outside long, but she'd be ok for a few minutes.

_- So, what are you wearing? ;) – _

Was that a wink emoticon? It was! Good thing she knew he was kidding. _– I have this pink gingham flannel granny nightgown. Keeps me toasty. – _Two could play that game. She chuckled to herself as she walked over to the window, pulled aside the curtains and raised the shade. Cat unlocked the window, opened it and grabbed a folded flannel comforter from the floor. She kept it there for nights like this when she wanted to sit outside for a few minutes. The brunette climbed out onto the fire escape, but turned and shut the window most of the way so she wouldn't lose too much heat. Before she could turn back around to sit, her mouth was covered by a big hand, while another arm snaked around her arms, holding them tightly to her body.

The police detective started to struggle, until she heard, "Nice nightgown," rasped quietly in her ear. She recognized the voice, then recognized the arms surrounding as belonging to the same man she'd danced with earlier that night. As soon as Vincent felt her relax, he let go. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I don't think I believe you," she countered, only a little unsteady.

"Ok, I wanted to surprise you, but not scare you." He took the comforter out of her grasp and began to unfold it.

"_That_ I believe. What are you doing here?" She turned to watch him.

He swung the comforter around his shoulders before he sat on the stairs. Then he held the comforter out, inviting her to sit with him. "I wasn't quite ready for the night to end. I figure this week is going to be just as busy as last week, and we probably won't see much of each other. I wanted to hang out just the two of us, if only for a few minutes."

"How did you know I'd be out here?" She started to sit next to him, but he tugged her up to sit on his lap with her legs between his. Vincent wrapped his arms and the comforter around her, cocooning them. It immediately felt warmer.

"Took a guess you might want to clear your head, figured you'd go for the fire escape instead of the roof with the temperature."

"Mmm," Catherine snuggled closer to Vincent and his warmth. "This is much nicer than sitting out here by myself."

"Happy to be useful."

"You are…" she trailed off, lost in thought.

"Dollar for your thoughts?"

"Even with inflation they aren't worth that much."

"They might be to me. What's up?"

"That's kind of it. We barely know each other. How can you gauge what my thoughts are worth to you?"

"That comes with time."

"I know, but I feel like this is all moving so fast. I'm worried. I think I'd feel better if I knew more about you. Even if it was just... mundane… stuff."

"Like what? You can ask me anything. Just keep in mind I'm going to want the same answers from you."

"That's fair. Favorite color?"

"Red. Yours?"

"Me too. Favorite food?"

"I love a nice steak dinner, with a sweet potato and almond green beans."

"Very manly. How do you like your steak?"

"Medium rare. Don't think you get to skip. Favorite food?"

"Hmm, Belgian waffle, with berries and whipped cream. What's your favorite season?"

"Fall. You?"

"Me too. It's usually good jogging weather."

"Exactly. I also like the leaves and that the winter holidays are coming."

"Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee. Even though I know it's not good to drink so much of it. You?"

"I'm a cop. Coffee, even the bad cop shop stuff. Book or movie?"

"I love a good book, but tend to watch more movies, just because of time."  
"Book if I'm on vacation. Otherwise the movie, because it's faster and I can usually finish it. I almost never finish books," she finished quietly, a little embarrassed.

"For shame!" he teased. "And how often do you vacation?"

"You caught me. Almost never."

"When was the last time?"

"Uhm… three years ago? Yeah, for a cousin's wedding."

"That doesn't sound like much of a vacation," he leaned to the right and lifted his right hand to stroke along her cheek to face him. "When's the last time you took time just for you?"

"I honestly don't remember," she turned to face him but kept her chin low and her eyes down, shaded by her lashes.

Vincent curled his index finger under her chin and lifted so her eyes met his, "That can't possibly be good for you."

Her eyes met his for a moment, but dropped again, "I know, but there hasn't been any point on vacation because there's no one to go with." She sounded resigned and tired and sad, and her posture remained huddled into herself.

He let his hand drop as she explained, but countered with a question, "How do you feel about cabins in the woods?"

"I love the woods. When I was a kid we had a cabin and we'd spend weeks up there in the summer."

He could feel her relax in her arms; clearly these were great memories. "We have a cabin in the Poconos still. I love going up there any time of year, but it's especially peaceful in winter.

I usually go up for a couple of days or a long weekend in January. It helps me decompress after the holidays. Not only is it crazy with family and friends, but it's always nuts at the hospital too. I imagine it's the same for you?"

"Definitely. I usually end up taking a few extra days in January, but I mostly stay home, watch movies and eat ice cream."

"You're welcome to come to the cabin with me. We'll be doing up our January schedule next week, and I'll know what dates I'm free. The doctors with families are always willing to cover extra shifts in January, since I help out more around the holidays."

She didn't know how to react to the invitation, so she focused on the end of his explanation, "You do extra shifts during the holidays?"

He tilted his head and looked a little sheepish, "Well, I don't have any kids, and I know they all appreciate the time. It's the right thing to do, to help kids be together with their parents for the holidays."

She reached up and cupped his cheek, turning his head to look at her, "That's incredibly sweet of you."

He leaned his face into her hand and closed her eyes. He was hoping that her gesture meant that she wasn't adverse to his invitation. Though he hadn't actually asked anything, just said she was welcome. _Time to man up, Vincent! _He opened his eyes and offered, "Catherine, if you're interested, I'll let you know what dates I'll be free to head to the cabin."

Immobilized in shock, except for her slightly gaping mouth, it took her a minute to respond, "Vincent that sounds lovely. But I'm not sure we know each other well enough to be going away together, especially somewhere so isolated."

Now he was taken aback, "You're not worried about being alone with me, are you? Because I'd never…"

She put her other hand on his cheek and turned his face to fully met hers as she rushed to interrupt him, "No, no, oh no. I'm not worried about _that_. I'm so sorry that you would even think that. I would never be out here with you like this if I thought I couldn't trust you physically."

"Then… what?"

"We barely know each other. We didn't meet that long ago, and haven't spent much time together. I feel like I've known you forever, but I don't want to risk rushing into an intimate vacation where we can't escape from each other and potentially have that ruin things."

"So you don't want to come to the cabin? I think I understand."

"No, I'd love to go to the cabin," she assured him, dropping her hands to his chest as she ducked her head shyly. "I just don't know if it's a good idea yet. Can I get back to you with an answer after the New Year? Almost no one takes time then, so I'll probably be able to coordinate with your vacation even with just a week's notice."

"That's a good idea, just let me know if you decide to come," he cuddled her closer, clearly relieved.

"Thank you for understanding," she twisted a bit to give him a kiss on the cheek before tucking her head under his chin as she shivered.

"Cold?"

"Just my edges. This is much nicer with you; I'd have had to go in ages ago if I was by myself."

"Why don't you head back in. I don't want any part of you to freeze."

"Only if you come in with me. I don't want you driving home cold either."

"I'll be fine. I tend to run warm."

"I don't care, I'd feel awful if your hands were too cold and you had an accident," she teased. "Besides, Heather is crashing at a friend's tonight anyway, so there's no need to worry about nosy sisters."

"Well, I guess I could come in for a minute," he opened his arms so she could stand.

Catherine quickly stepped down to the landing, then opened her window and stepped through. "You know, you're welcome to stay on the couch," she offered as he stepped through the window.

"There's no need, I'm fine to drive home," he assured as he shut the window before stepping further into the room.

She pulled the shade down and the curtains closed, shivering the entire time. The brief moments without Vincent's warmth had chilled her.

"No, it's crazy late and you've got to be cold too."

"I'm really fine. I've always run warm," he folded the comforter and laid it on her window seat.

Catherine fought with herself for a moment, but eventually gave into the question she desperately wanted to ask. "Actually," she stopped him from leaving her room with a hand on his arm, "I feel silly asking, but do you mind holding me for a few minutes? I'm still freezing, and crawling into a cold bed isn't going to help."

He was charmed by the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Why Catherine, I'd be delighted to help _warm your bed_," he teased.

"That's not what I asked!" she started to sputter, before realizing it wasn't actually a bad idea… both literally and the innuendo version… no literally only… _mind out of the gutter Chandler!_

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Let me just shed the jacket and boots and I'm happy to simply hold you until you're warm. We can use one of your extra blankets for insulation, and after you're toasty, I'll head out to the couch."

"Thank you."

Vincent shed his boots and jacket, while Catherine took off her boots, fleece pants and hoodie.

"I'm setting out sheets, a pillow and some blankets on the couch for you," she explained as she left the room, just to return a minute later.

"Thanks, I'll take care of that once you're all cozy here," he lay down on his side on the bed, pulled up an extra blanket and held out his arm for her.

Catherine ducked in under his arm and intended to face him, but ended up rolling into him so they were snuggled up spoon style. Vincent wrapped his arm and the blanket around her, and all thoughts of protesting the intimate embrace fled instantly at the cocoon of warmth surrounding her.

"You know, some of my married friends tried to convince me once that this was a great reason to have a man in the winter. I never really understood how nice this was before, so I didn't believe them."

"Us men folk are just glad to know the women folk still have a use for us."

They teased and chatted a bit. Somehow Vincent forgot to ask if Catherine was finally warm enough, and she never remembered to tell him. They gradually drifted off to sleep, nestled together on her bed.

* * *

_Author's Note 5__th__ May, 2013_

_I love the scenes from the fire escape! And I kept waiting for them to snuggle and fall asleep on her bed in the show…as a giant "but they haven't kissed yet" tease, but it never happened. Course now they are snuggling anyway, but I still think it would have been fun._

_Sorry it's been so long between updates. Still swamped at work, and beginning to think that it may never let up. I'm working on delegating and planning, so I have hopes of someday managing the crazy better._

_I've also been struggling with the plot. I know how the story ends, but got through writing chapter 25, Dancing in the Dark, and realized they hadn't actually been "dating" all that long. They'd only actually met each other a week prior! My feel for their characters is that both of them will rush into things. However both, especially Cat, have moments of looking back and rethinking decisions, second guessing, and they aren't always good about talking about it._

_Thanks to everyone for the reviews, inquiries, requests, nagging, good wishes, etc. They are all appreciated, very much. Every time I get an email notification from the site, it reminds me that I have this outstanding story. Yes, I feel like I "owe" you all the rest of the story, but not in a bad way. It helps keep me going. __ Also, I am over the death cold, thanks!_

_frbbjbaby4545, good catches, thank you! I've updated chapters 9 (should have been Evan, not Ethan, just a typo, not Alex being sly) and 21 (mention Vincent is one of the groomsmen, instead of specifically the third)._


	27. Waking Up is Hard to Do

_**- Sunday, 2**__**nd**__** December, 2012 -**_

Heather found them the next morning when she returned. Cat hadn't shut her bedroom door, since she thought Vincent would be going out to spend the night on the couch. Heather walked in, saw the pillow and blankets still folded on the couch, and peeked her head around the corner of her sister's bedroom, as nosy little sisters are wont to do.

She almost shrieked in excitement at the sight of a second – male! - person in the bed, but managed to choke it in to a quiet, "Eep!" with both hands over her mouth. There was plenty of mileage to be gained from this info without scaring them. In fact… the scent of coffee was as good as an alarm clock for all the cops she knew, and she bet doctors weren't much different…

Scheming all the fun she could have with her new knowledge of Cat's racy activities of the night before, Heather went to brew a full pot of coffee and make breakfast. She decided she wouldn't be overly quiet with the cupboards, plates and cutlery, in case the scent of coffee wasn't enough to wake them, though she needn't have worried; as she suspected, the heavenly scent of java acted as an olfactory alarm. The slams and rattles just punctuated the initial rousing.

Catherine woke from the best night's sleep of her life, still feeling contented and warm. It took just a moment for her to register it all as unfamiliar, and a second more to realize that she wasn't alone in her bed. Next came the awareness that it was Vincent sharing the space, and finally the thought that her sister must have seen them, at which her entire body tensed. Catherine's perfect waking moment was over as quickly as it had begun. She sighed, and turned her head to try to see the face of the man spooning her. "Vincent," she hissed as she tapped the arm wrapped around her rib cage, "you've got to wake up."

Vincent was also awakened by the aroma of coffee, and Heather's none-too-quiet presence in the apartment. He was a tiny bit ashamed that he'd nodded off, but couldn't remember ever sleeping better. He was cozy, happy and had his perfect girl in his arms. They'd spent an amazing night talking, about serious and silly things, and he couldn't believe he'd almost missed this bliss because he'd settled into a rut with Alex. He started to become aware that Catherine's thoughts upon waking might be slightly different when she went stiff in his arms, then hissed at him to wake up.

"I'm awake," he whispered back.

"I'm sorry, but we've got to get up and face my sister," she sounded miserable as she rolled to face him.

"It can't be all that bad," he teased as he brushed the hair off her face.

"No, I've never had anyone spend the night, and she's going to be impossible," her tone was implacable. She pushed the blanket down and got out of bed.

"What would you like me to do?" he asked carefully as he sat up, trying to have little inflection in his voice. She was clearly upset, and he didn't want to make matters worse, even though he didn't understand it.

"Well, she knows you're here. I'm sure she peeked in the door, so there's no use in sneaking out the fire escape."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" He couldn't help but let a little frustration seep into his voice as he got out of bed and pulled on his shoes.

"You don't know my sister. I guess the best thing is for us to act like it's no big deal and hope she plays along." She folded the comforter, and placed it back in its space on the floor. She continued, clearly reluctant to offer, "It sounds like she's making breakfast, would you like to stay?"

"If you want, I can pretend to get a call from the hospital and just head straight out," he offered, slightly sarcastic, hoping she wouldn't take him up on it.

"Oh, would you? That might be easiest," she was relieved, but had the presence of mind to offer caffeine, "I think we have an extra travel mug if you want to take some coffee."

"Nah, that's ok, I'll just pick some up on the way home," he didn't want to end up with a mug he might not be able to return. He was no longer sure he'd been reading her signals right last night, given the speed with which she was rushing him out the door this morning.

Unfortunately, Cat was too caught up in her fears, both acknowledged and subconscious, to recognize the cause of Vincent's reaction. Instead, she took it as rejection. "Well, thanks for being so understanding about this."

"No worries. I guess I'll see you at the wedding?" He pulled on his jacket.

"Yeah, I've got a crazy amount of stuff to do this week, and I'm guessing you're still busy too?"

"Swamped, with the wedding and Christmas so close."

They exchanged a few more desultory comments as she walked him to the door. He made his excuses to Heather, and he was gone.

Cat glanced at her sister out of the corner of her eye, embarrassed and waiting for the inevitable mocking. As Heather appeared to be absorbed in scraping butter onto toast, the elder sister began to walk quietly back to her room, hoping to avoid any interaction.

"Cat you _hussy_!"

"What!" she countered, defensively, abandoning the attempt to sneak away and reaching for a coffee mug. Might as well get some caffeine if she's going to have to suffer.

"I thought you were a good girl, saving yourself for your true love," Heather mocked. She admired her sister's decision to wait, but was also intimidated by it. It was hard to grow up in the shadow of someone who seemed so perfect.

"We didn't do anything!"

Heather simply raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of coffee.

"All we did was sleep," Cat objected as she put bread in the toaster.

"Riiiiiiiiight."

"Seriously!"

"Uh huh. Did you at least enjoy yourself?" The question was punctuated with a suggestive wiggle of the younger sister's eyebrows as she forked up some eggs.

"I mean we actual slept, just sleeping, no sex." Cat continued to sip her coffee. She wasn't sure she could eat with her stomach in its current knotted state.

"Suppose I believe you. You still spent the night with him," Heather worried. "You've never done that before."

"I didn't mean to. I don't know what happened. We were talking and then we woke up."

"Talking where?"

"I don't know what I was thinking. I asked him to warm me up after being on the fire escape."

As the conversation continued, Heather became more worried. This was not the way her sister would normally behave, both the night before and her reactions this morning. "He was on the fire escape with you?"

"He surprised me out there."

"Stalker!"

"No, I'm sure he's fine. Lynn and Robert wouldn't have set me up with him if they didn't think he was a good guy."

"Cat, how long have you actually known him?"

"Well…"

"It's basically been a week since the date," her sister flung back.

"I know," Cat groaned, "and he's probably rebounding! I know!"

"What were you thinking? You need to be careful, especially before the wedding."

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt Lynn for the world, you know that."

"Not on purpose, but you don't seem to be able to help yourself with this guy."

"I don't know what to think. How can I trust my feelings on this? It's all much too soon, and it feels too right."

"So slow down. Stick to public places."

"I'm not going to be seeing him until the wedding, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"You won't be talking to him?"

"I hadn't really thought about that. Could email or something..." she trailed off despondently.

"Is that why you rushed him out?"

"I wanted to avoid this conversation while he was in the apartment. My mind is full of how crazy this is: rushing into things, rebounding, the fact that I can't explain this attraction, it's all so ridiculous." Cat looked at her own coffee before taking another swallow.

"I wouldn't have said anything in front of him."

"Not directly, but you'd have hinted. And you wouldn't have been able to help yourself from commenting while he was in the bathroom."

"Yeah…. You have a point," Heather admitted. This wasn't the reaction she was expecting; she'd figured her older sister would be confident and brushing off the teasing, not panicked and angsty. Time to try and repair the damage, and soothe, "After the way you rushed him out of here, he's going to think you're not interested. Honestly, I don't think you guys are rushing if you just fell asleep. I saw the bedding for the couch; obviously you were trying to be sure he didn't fall asleep on the drive home."

"Still, from infatuation to this, with so little time actually talking… it's not like we talked during the past week, we've both been too busy…" she trailed off sadly as she poured another cup of coffee..

"Cat, I'm sorry. If I'd known you were going to be so stressed about the whole thing I'd never have given you such a hard time."

"Your sisterly mocking may have been a little overboard, but your concerns aren't."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Give it a few days, talk to Tess, maybe send him an email apologizing for my barely awake stupidity and letting him know I'm looking forward to seeing him at the wedding?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Give it a few days, then send it. Too soon will look desperate, too late is you scrambling to make things good for the wedding. I'd say maybe tomorrow or Tuesday. Tess might be able to help. She's seeing his friend, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to put them in the middle."

"You're just asking for an opinion. If your concerns make it back to him, so much the better."

"When you put it like that… hey, when'd you become so smart with this stuff?"

"I pay attention to my big sister. You're just a mess because of this one guy, which makes me think he's either a really bad idea, or a really good one. And I'm voting good. I think Tess is too. And don't forget he's friends with Robert, and we approve of him, so that's approval by proxy."

"We'll see how he handles the email. I'm going to start writing while it's fresh in my mind."

"Just don't send it until tomorrow."

"Will do. Thanks Heath," Cat hugged her sister, then wandered back to her room with a mug of coffee. She still wasn't steady enough to be hungry.

* * *

_Author's Note 30th May 2013_

_Sorry for the long wait for the update. Real life interfered, as usual. I also struggled a bit with this chapter and the next. They aren't happy chapters.  
_

_Not sure how quickly the rest will come, but still planning on finishing. Just watched the last 3 episodes of the season, and it reminded me why I began writing this in the first place, the relationship with Vincent and Catherine. Hoping that helps (and if not, I've still got most of the season saved to my DVR for re-watching)._

___Also, I was internet-less on family vacation for a while, but am back in civilization now. _

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, watched or favorited, and especially the PMs checking in with me! You guys help keep me going too.  
_


	28. Men are from Mars

_**- Sunday, 2**__**nd**__** December, 2012 -**_

Vincent left the apartment confused. The night before she seemed to be sending "come and get me" signals, but this morning she was so closed off. He walked down the street, and stopped at a cafe to get coffee. He thought through it all as he walked back to his car.

_I don't think she's a tease, not on purpose, but what's with the quick change? Last night she's all soft, close and snuggly. She was sultry on the dance floor, and it felt like we were going to kiss outside the club- before we were interrupted. This morning she can't rush me out the door fast enough? Even if she never brings guys home, that was a very strong reaction. Man, did not miss _this_ while I was with Alex: the craziness of trying to figure out what a woman is thinking. _

_Maybe one of the guys can help me figure this out. Might just be a standard case of 'women, can't live with them, can't live without them'. _

Vincent checked the time as he got into the car. It was after 9am, too early to call on a Sunday morning. Still, time to request reinforcements: he texted JT, Simon and Robert to see if anyone was interested in breakfast at the diner, then headed there to wait. He could use more coffee and a full breakfast even if none of them showed.

When he got to the diner, he checked his phone and began reading texts from the guys.

_ -Will see you shortly. Sara coming too.-_  
No surprise there. Sara often tagged along with JT for diner breakfasts.

_ -Sounds great. Lynn coming too. Her gang isn't meeting and she wants diner breakfast.-_  
This could get interesting. Lynn had never come to breakfast with Robert, she'd always been busy with her own clan.

_ -V, will see you shortly. Need grease to battle this hangover.-_  
Typical Simon.

Vincent responded to all three that he'd have a table waiting. As he walked behind the hostess towards the table for six, that suddenly seemed like a lot of people to share to ask for opinions on an already confusing subject. Bad plan; better to just chat with JT and Sara on the way home.

Breakfast was fun, but uneventful. Lynn was quiet when she and Robert first sat down, but soon came out of her shell when she discovered that diner breakfast with Robert's friends was much like diner breakfast with her own friends. There was the inevitable teasing about Vincent's revealing dances with Catherine, though he mostly managed to pass that off as enjoying a moment with someone else of a similar skill level. Lynn and Robert also took some heat as the engaged couple; they'd been quite cozy both on and off the dance floor. JT and Sara were teased as wall flowers; they'd cheerfully watched the booth, coats and purses as both claim to have two left feet. And Simon took heat over his '80s dancing with Tess. This he brushed off with a blustery claim about the awesomeness of the decade and his joy in the return of all things '80s; which soon led the table into a heated discussion on the merits and downfalls of the decade ranging from power ballads to spandex.

The six finished breakfast and headed off their separate ways. Simon went home to grade tests, while Robert and Lynn had some last minute wedding errands to run. Vincent offered JT and Sara a ride home, since he already had his car. As the morning was still a bit chilly, they took him up on the offer.

Vincent decided to bite the bullet and jump right into the conversation, "So, what did you guys really think about my dances with Catherine last night?"

"Serious answer?" JT wanted to confirm what exactly Vincent was fishing for.

"Serious answer please. I need some help deciphering girl."

Sara snorted, "We don't exactly come with a translation dictionary."

"No, but I'm hoping to figure out if she's really interested, and what she's interested in. It would be nice to know if she's seeing me as a fling, if this is just a rebound for her, or if she might want something more."

"Even other girls don't always know what's going on," scoffed JT. "You're probably going to have to ask her."

Sara glared at JT before responding, "He is right. The only completely sure way is to ask her."

"I would've talked to her about that this morning, but she kicked me so she could have breakfast with her sister. I've never been rushed out of an apartment so quickly."

"Dude, you spent the night? And?" JT's tone implied all sorts of naughtiness.

"It wasn't like that! We'd talked about sitting on the fire escape or the roof to clear your head, so I thought I'd surprise her."

"Stalker!" Sara teased, but then asked incredulously, "Wait, you seriously showed up on her fire escape?"

"Yes," Vincent hunched his shoulders defensively.

"And how did you let her know you were there?" she suspected that his reaction meant she wouldn't approve.

"Uhm, I grabbed her from behind," Vincent explained sheepishly.

"Dude, she's a cop, probably has self defense training. You're lucky you didn't end up several stories down!" JT exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Vincent, but I think she probably gets a pass on almost any behavior this morning after you scared her like that last night," Sara responded seriously. She continued a bit hesitantly, "You didn't do anything else that might turn this into a weird sort of one night stand, or make things awkward for the wedding, did you?"

"I think that was the only stupid thing I did. Despite the scare we sat and talked, then she invited me in, and I was going to sleep on the couch because it was cold and late and she was worried about me driving home."

"You _were_ going to sleep on the couch?" now Sara sounded suspicious.

"That was the intent for both of us. But she asked me to share some warmth, and we started talking on her bed. Not sure how long we talked, must have been at least an hour or two, and we both fell asleep."

"This actually has the potential for some romance." Sara sighed. "Did you snuggle?"

Vincent blushed a little, "I woke up spooning her."

"Nice of you to help _warm_ her bed," JT mocked.

"Dude, I know! I said the same thing," Vincent chuckled. "It was cute, she blushed."

"Boys!" Sara used her best teacher voice to call the two to order, "This isn't helping. I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share bad jokes with her, but I don't think that's going to help with this conversation."

"Yes Ma'am," mocked JT.

"You're right, Sara, I'm sorry," Vincent apologized before continuing to share his memories of the night before without going into too much detail. "We cuddled on the fire escape wrapped in a comforter, with her on my lap. When we came inside, she set out blankets and a pillow for the couch, then we snuggled on her bed under a comforter and talked until we fell asleep."

"So when did things start to go wrong?" Sara inquired.

"Her sister must have seen us sleeping and gotten the wrong idea. Catherine hadn't shut the door because she wasn't expecting her sister home early, and we were both planning on me spending the night on the couch. When she figured out Heather might have seen us, Catherine freaked. She was so worried about her sister's reaction that I jokingly offered to pretend to have an emergency call from work. I was kind of surprised when she agreed so readily. She offered me coffee and breakfast, but it felt like she couldn't get me out the door fast enough."

Sara looked at JT, and when it was clear he had no idea what to do she asked, "Do you remember exactly what she said she was worried about with the sister?"

"I think it was something about never having a guy spend the night, and her sister being weird or crazy about it."

"If she never has guys stay over it's a very big thing. And her sister clearly isn't the shy, retiring type." Sara thought for a moment, "Was there anything else she said that indicated she might be uncomfortable with the situation?"

"Well, she did mention that we barely know each other while we were chatting on the fire escape."

"You and Simon only went on that double date last weekend," interjected JT.

"When I stop and think I know it's only been a week. But it feels like I've known her forever. We fall into bantering or quiet moments, and it's so right and natural." Vincent sighed.

"Regardless how right it feels, that's not a lot of time." Sara admonished, "Even in a regular relationship there's a lot of things that could cause a girl to be a little crazy when she wakes up with a guy for the first time."

"I suppose, but do you have anything specific you can think of that might apply here?" Vincent was all for theories, but he preferred Catherine specific ones.

"Well, you guys only went on your first date a week ago. You've been circling each other for much longer, but you didn't actually meet until a week ago. It sounds like spending the night would be a big deal for her anyway, and this is much sooner than she would normally allow."

"That's true, and it may be part of why she reacted so strongly this morning, but even I don't think that's all of it," JT commented.

"What he said," agreed Vincent.

"It's possible she hasn't had many serious relationships, or at least none recently, based on her rather exaggerated concern about her sister's mocking."

"You've seen her, I doubt it," scoffed JT.

"I don't know." Vincent thought then continued, "Despite her natural dancing talents, she's sometimes awkward about flirtatious things. It's like how I'm rusty with dating because I was with Alex for so long, so you forget everything. I wonder if she either never learned, or hasn't in a long time for some reason."

"Think about it; she's a cop. She sees people lie, cheat and steal and do bad things all the time. It would almost be surprising if she _didn't_ have trust issues," Sara pointed out. "Plus, as you just mentioned, there's Alex. Maybe Cat's worried that she's a rebound for you?"

"That hadn't even occurred to me. We'd really been acting as friends, not lovers, for so long. This is something a girl would think of, isn't it?" Vincent asked the girl in the back seat.

"It's definitely something a girl would think of," Sara confirmed.

"Damnit!" Vincent exclaimed.

"Maybe she doesn't think clearly until after she has coffee?" quipped JT.

"And my knee jerk reaction was to back away because I don't know how to date anymore."

"I'm not sure that this is simply dating," soothed Sara. "Clearly the two of you have a lot going on. And I think it could be good, but you're both going to have to work at it. And be understanding with each other."

After thinking about the conversation, and all of the possible causes of Catherine's behavior, Vincent was at a loss. "So what now?" The question was posed musingly, but not so quiet his friends couldn't overhear.

Sara and JT both thought.

"Well, you need to be sure you guys are on ok terms for the wedding," JT reminded.

"Oh there's that too! Well, I'll do whatever I can to be sure things go smoothly for Robert, and I'm sure Catherine feels the same about Lynn," responded the groomsman instinctively. "That's not really what I meant though," he continued.

"No, you mean what should 'you' do next," interjected Sara.

"Exactly."

"Well, give her until Tuesday to make the first move. If she reaches out, try to have a conversation with her about it, figure out what happened and where you guys stand, and at very least, clear things up about the wedding." Sara advised.

"And when we get to Wednesday?" Vincent worried.

"I doubt that will happen. I'm sure she'll be talking this over with someone too. She'll probably reach out, even if it's just to smooth things over for the wedding. But if she doesn't, then you'll need to contact her. Use text or email, so she can choose when and where to respond. And keep the message simple and light to start with.

Either way, you should ping Simon and see how things are going with Tess. Maybe mention how much you enjoyed the evening, and that you're a little worried because Cat seemed unhappy this morning. Keep it simple, and be sure he knows he's free to talk to Tess about it. The old trick about passing messages, or finding information from friends is an old trick because it works."

"And this is why I wanted to have you around for this conversation Sara. I knew a female perspective would be helpful," Vincent said. "Thank you both."

"Always happy to help with someone else's woman problems. Better than having them," JT mockingly accepted the apology.

"Happy to help. JT is happier when you are happy, so this is really me being selfish," Sara teased.

They finished the ride to the apartment, joking about the intertwined happiness of friends, roommates and girlfriends. Vincent still wasn't happy or comfortable with the way he left things with Catherine, but he resigned himself to waiting to hear from her. He resolved to check in with Simon later that afternoon, and see how things were with Tess. Chances were that Simon would end up coming over to hang anyway, so maybe he could bring it up then.

* * *

_Author's Note 14__th__ June 2013_

_Thanks again for your patience everyone. Thanks for all the reviews and PMs, especially for the questions. You guys asked, and it's helping me be sure I cover those points. I'm hoping that most of the outstanding questions were answered in this chapter, at least the "is Cat crazy and will Vincent put up with it" ones. I'll be trying to get those answers to you guys soon._

_Also trying to be clearer about who is talking in conversations._

_Yeah… kissing. It's a romance, you'd think that would happen at some point… *wink*_

_As always, feel free to PM or review and ask questions or send feedback. Can't promise to answer everything directly, but will try to answer all the questions in the story._


	29. Women are from Venus

_**- Sunday, 2**__**nd**__** December, 2012 -**_

Catherine sipped her coffee and tried to relax. She attempted to read, then to just zone and listen to the radio, even Christmas shopping online, but nothing worked. She finally gave in to her urge to talk it out with someone and texted to see if her partner was free that afternoon. At this point, the thought of getting out of the house, or even just talking it through with someone with a little more life experience than her little sister sounded great. To her surprise, Tess actually called back.

"Hey Cat."

"Hey."

"Sorry, can't hang today. In the middle of cleaning and laundry, then I have to wrap presents. But we can chat if you like. I've got my blue tooth in."

"That works. I need to talk to someone besides my little sister. She's so naïve and trusting sometimes," as Cat responded, she walked into her bathroom, and turned the faucet on to a trickle in the sink. She got comfortable leaning against a wall, on a folded towel on the floor, so she could take advantage of the white noise she'd created to block any potential eavesdropping on her end.

"So what's up? I didn't expect to hear from you today."

Cat took a moment to compose her thoughts, and decided to just be honest. She valued Tess' opinion, and really wanted another perspective that she could trust. "Last night Vincent showed up on my fire escape. At first he scared me, but then I realized it was him."

"He remembered your fire escape bit from that one date?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Part of me hopes you hurt him," Tess laughed.

"If it had taken me one moment longer, I probably would have." Cat explained, "I went out on the fire escape and he grabbed me from behind, one arm around my arms, and the other hand over my mouth."

"Moron! Who does that to a cop?"

"Well, it actually only took a few seconds for me to figure out it was him. Not sure how I knew so quickly. That freaked me out a bit too, on top of the scare."

"What, like you have 'Vince-dar' instead of 'Gay-dar'?"

"Ha ha, but yes. We kept bumping into each other even before we met, and I always could tell he was near. We're so comfortable together, at least until one of us starts to think about it."

"Yeah, I can see that. Your behavior on the date, the dancing last night… It's weird how you two just seem to work so perfectly."

"Thank you! Oh, I'm so glad it's not just me feeling that."

"No, it's funny. When you guys are in sync, it's like you've known each other forever. Of course, that's punctuated by moments of awkwardness when one of you realizes you haven't actually known each other that long."

"It's only been a week Tess. One week!"

"Huh, you're right! It _has_ only been a week since your first date. Why does it feel longer?"

"I don't know. But it definitely feels like we've known each other forever. I don't know, maybe we've run across each other in a different life, and have just met again in this one."

"Reincarnation? Life mates maybe? Interesting theory."

"Oh hang on there, I didn't say life mates."

"But that's what you meant."

"Well," Cat thought for a moment, "you're right, that's part of the thought process. I don't really know how to explain this… _thing_ we have."

"Don't try. For once, don't try. There's no report or paperwork that needs to be filed, this is your personal life. Relax and enjoy it."

"Yeah, relax. That worked out so well already," Cat responded, sarcastically.

"Ok spill. What happened between last night and now?" Tess almost sounded threatening, but Cat knew this wasn't actually scary Tess, just a quiet version of interrogation Tess.

"I panicked. Overreacted. Basically threw him out and now he isn't going to want to talk to me."

"Doubt that. He seems just as smitten as you."

"Not anymore."

"Seriously Cat, what happened?"

"So we chatted on the fire escape. We even talked about how we haven't known each other that long. We answered silly questions as a way to start fixing that. Then he noticed I was chilly, so we went inside. He was going to drive home, but it was so late, I basically insisted he stay."

"That's a big step for you," Tess was actually starting to worry. It was very unlike her partner to have a guy over, much less to spend the night.

"On the couch! I even set out blankets and a pillow. But it was late and I was cold and he was so cozy, and I wasn't thinking and I asked him to hold me until I warmed up."

"Aww, he warmed your bed! Does he know he's the first guy to do that?"

"You have got to be kidding! He made that same joke!" Cat was slightly exasperated that no one was taking this seriously. Too many jokes about this one thing, it better be funny _some_day.

"I spent my formative years with my brothers. Sometimes I resort to man-humor. You know this."

"You're right Tess, I should have expected that from you. Anyway, we snuggled for a bit, and chatted, and the next thing I know Heather's in the kitchen making coffee and banging things around like she's trying to wake us up."

"You were comfortable enough with him to fall asleep together? This from the girl who has trouble napping at the station because there's other people around. That's a big deal, Cat. How did you feel before you realized Heather was home?"

"Best sleep ever. Didn't even mind waking up." Cat sighed, remembering how she felt in that blissful moment.

"There's some food for thought to be had there. So what happened next?"

"I panicked, woke him up, sounded unhappy, he offered to pretend to get an emergency call, I took him up on it, and he wouldn't even take coffee with him."

"What were you thinking? Oh wait, you hadn't had coffee yet. Don't suppose you guys talked about your caffeine addiction?"

"No, didn't fully disclose all my weaknesses, much too soon. Oh Tess, what if he goes running back to his ex?"

"I know timing says you're the rebound girl, but my understanding is that they were really just friends at the end. I don't think he's going back to her, and besides, she's with Evan now."

"I could still be a rebound, or a first fling now that he's single again."

"If that was the case, you'd have been fighting him off last night, not just sleeping."

"But..."

"No, he's a doctor, not a criminal mastermind. You didn't meet him at the precinct. He's good friends with Robert, who is marrying your cousin, who you are friends with. If he was that bad of a guy, they wouldn't be friends. Stop thinking like a cop for a moment."

Cat sighed, "Ok, think like not-a-cop. Not sure I can do that. Can I pretend to be someone else for this exercise?"

"Channel your sister a little."

"Oh you're funny."

"It's part of my charm. Anyway, I think this is fixable. You kicked him out, so you need to make the next move. Later tonight or tomorrow, text him and see if he's free to chat or get coffee or something innocent and public."

"Ok, but what do I say if he agrees to meet?"

"Start by being sure you guys are all set for the wedding. Then talk to him about your concerns. Explain your caffeine addiction. Make plans to date. Then see how it goes."

"Keep it simple. Got it. Thanks Tess"

"No worries. I need you to not mess this up. I really like Simon, and if you blow things with Vincent, that could ruin anything long term for me."

"Ah, ulterior motives. At least you want this to turn out well, even if it is for your own selfish reasons," Cat teased.

"You got it, partner," Tess responded, relieved that Cat was back to a headspace where she could joke again.

"Alright, I'm off to compose a carefully worded text."

"Don't think too hard. You better let me know what happens."

"I will. I'll text later."

"Later." Tess disconnected.

Cat sighed, and leaned her head back against the wall. She got up, set her phone aside, and splashed water on her face. As she patted dry, she began thinking about what to text.

_Best to give it a day, and take time to figure out what to text_, she thought. She really wanted to smooth things over with Vincent, and was concerned he might be ready to write her off. She managed to distract herself with Christmas shopping and wrapping, then fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

_Author's Note 3rd July, 2013_

_Sorry for the delays in posting. Same old - _life, work, sewing circle skirts and shopping for fabric and foam for boat cushions_ - interrupting my writing time. Just re-watched the first 2 episodes, thinking I'll re-watch all of them to get me back in the BatB mindset. Definitely worked tonight; I'm remembering why I love this show enough to write an AU for the characters. _

_Tiikas, you're right about Alex's last name. I wrote the first chapters with her in them before we knew her name in the show, so I just picked something._

___Thanks for all the notes of encouragement and appreciation. Especially frbbjbaby4545! __Teaser to reward you all for being so patient and faithful: there will be Vincent/Catherine interaction in the next chapter! Yes, it's started!_  



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